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GGDDAKD 

An  Address  to  the  people  of 

Hhode  Island   .    .    ,    l8if3 


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Ri 


i 


JK 
3225 

1843 
G7 


•1  >  \  AN 


ADDRESS 

TO 

THE  PEOPLE  OF  RHODE-ISLAND, 

DELIVERED  IN  NEWPORT, 
ON   WEDNESDAY,   MAY   3,    1843, 


IN  PRESENCE  OP  THE  GENERAL.  ASSEMBLY,  ON  THE  OCCASION  OP 
THE  CHANGE  IN 


THE   CIVIL  GOVERNMENT 

•      OF  RHODE-ISLAND, 


BY  THE  ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONST  [TUTION,  WHICH  SUPERSEDED 
THE  CHARTER  OF  1663. 


BY   WILLIAM   G.    GODDARD. 


PROVIDENCE : 

KNOWLES  AND  VOSE,  PRINTERS. 

1843. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/addresstopeopleoOOgoddiala 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Newport,  April  15,  1843. 
Dear  Sir: — At  a  numerous  and  respectable  meeting  of  the  citizens  of 
Newport,  convened  at  the  Town  Hall  in  this  place,  on  Friday  the  14th 
inst.,  the  enclosed  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted.  In  fulfilment 
of  the  duty  entrusted  to  us  by  our  townsmen,  and  in  compliance  with 
their  unanimous  wishes,  we  respectfully  request  that  you  will  consent  to 
be  the  organ  of  their  feelings  and  sentiments  on  the  occasion  referred  to, 
which  your  thorough  acquaintance  with  our  ancient  and  proposed  sys- 
tems of  government  so  well  qualifies  you  to  perform. 
We  are,  with  great  respect,  your  friends  and  fellow-citizens, 

RICHARD  K.  RANDOLPH, 
NATHANIEL  S.  RUGGLES, 
C.  GRANT  PERRY, 
WM.  B.  SWAN. 
Wm.  G.  Goddard,  Esq.,  Providence. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Newport,  R.  1.,  convened  at  the  Town 
Hall  on  Friday  evening,  April  14, 1843,  to  take  into  consideration  the  pro- 
priety of  adopting  measures  to  commemorate  the  approaching  change  in 
the  civil  institutions  of  this  State,  the  following  resolutions  were  unani- 
mously adopted  : 

Whereas,  for  more  than  two  centuries  since  the  settlement  of  our  an- 
cestors on  this  Island  and  Continent,  the  Colony  and  State  of  Rhode- 
Island  has  enjoyed,  under  institutions  framed  by  those  venerable  men,  an 
unequal  degree  of  civil  and  religious  liberty — with  few  interruptions, 
great  worldly  prosperity — and  all  the  other  fruits  of  a  wise  and  well  or- 
dered frame  of  government : — And  whereas,  in  the  progress  of  things, 
the  time  has  now  arrived,  when  the  system  which  has  hitherto  so  hap- 
pily effected  these  objects,  is  about  to  be  superseded  by  a  new  form  of 
government  to  which  the  people  of  this  State,  in  a  lawful  and  peaceable 
manner,  have  given  their  full  and  free  consent : 


Resolved,  That  the  occurrence  of  a  change  in  our  political  system  of 
■o  important  a  character,  under  circumstances  which  have  eminently  de- 
veloped the  firmness,  prudence,  and  prevailing  good  sense  of  our  citi- 
zens, is  deserving  of  a  respectful  commemoration,  and  should  be  celebra- 
ted in  a  spirit  congenial  to  the  temper  which  this  trying  and  eventful 
crisis  has  called  forth. 

Resolved,  That  S.  Fowler  Gardner,  Richard  K.  Randolph,  William  B. 
Swan,  Christopher  Grant  Perry,  and  Nathaniel  S.  Ruggles  be  a  commit- 
tee to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  a  proper  commemoration  of 
the  cessation  of  the  old,  and  the  installation  of  the  new  government ; 
and  that  they  be  authorized  to  invite  some  distinguished  citizen  of  this 
State  to  express  our  sentiments  on  the  occasion  as  to  the  important 
results  to  be  deduced  from  this  eventful  era  of  our  history. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  signed  by  the  Chairman  and  Sec- 
retary. 

EDWARD  W.  LAWTON,  Chairman. 

John  W.  Davis,  Jr.,  Secretary. 


Providence,  April  17,  1843. 
Gentlemen, — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
communication  of  the  15th  instant,  enclosing  sundry  resolutions,  passed 
at  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Newport  on  the  evening  of  the  14th,  in 
relation  to  a  respectful  commemoration  of  the  important  change  which, 
under  very  peculiar  circumstances,  is  about  to  take  effect  in  the  frame  of 
our  civil  government ;  and  likewise  requesting  me  to  be  "  the  organ  of 
their  leelings  and  sentiments,"  on  an  occasion  which  is  intended  to  com- 
memorate "  the  cessation  of  the  old  and  the  installation  of  the  new  gov- 
ernment." 

To  be  selected  as  the  organ  of  the  sentiments  of  the  citizens  of  con- 
servative Newport,  upon  an  occasion  designed  to  celebrate  the  triumph 
of  great  conservative  principles,  I  shall  never  cease  to  prize  as  a  solid 
distinction,  of  which  any  man,  however  unambitious,  may  well  be  proud. 
While  I  signify  my  acceptance  of  the  invitation  which,  in  behalf  of 
your  townsmen,  you  have  tendered  to  me,  allow  me  to  thank  you,  per- 
sonally, for  the  very  courteous  and  obliging  terms  in  which  that  invita- 
tion is  conveyed. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  with  high  respect, 

Your  friend  and  fellow-citizen,  , 

WILLIAM  G.  GODDARD. 
To  Messrs. 

Richard  K.  Randolph, 
Nathaniel  S.  Ruggles, 
C.  G.  Perrv, 
William  B.  Swan. 


Newport,  Mav  4,  1843. 
DxAR  Sir, — We  enclose  a  copy  of  a  resolution  passed  by  the  General 
Assembly,  at  its  present  session,  in  relation  to  the  highly  interesting 
Address  delivered  by  you  on  the  third  instant. 

We  have  much  pleasure  in  performing  the  farther  duty  assigned  to  us, 
by  requesting  a  copy  of  that  Address  for  publication ;  and  we  beg  leare 
to  express  a  hope  that  you  will  comply  with  this  request,  as  soon  as  your 
convenience  will  permit. 

We  are,  with  sincere  respect  and  regard. 

Your  friends  and  obedient  servants, 
ALBERT  C.  GREENE, 


William  G.  Goddard,  Esq. 


RICHARD  K.  RANDOLPH. 


State  of  Rhode-Island  and  > 
Providence  Plantations.  ^ 


In  General  Assembly,  May  3d,  A.  D.  1843— 
Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  General  Assembly  be  presented  to 
William  G.  Goddard,  Esq,  for  his  very  able  and  interesting  Address 
in  commemoration  of  the  change  ot  government  in  this  State,  deliv 
ered  this  day  in  presence  of  the  General  Assembly  :  and  that  Albert  C. 
Greene,  and  Richard  K.  Randolph,  Esquires,  be  appointed  a  Committee  to 
communicate  to  Mr.  Goddard  a  copy  of  this  Resolution,  and  to  request  a 
copy  of  said  Address  for  publication  ;  and  that  they  cause  not  less  than 
two  thousand  copies  thereof  to  be  printed,  and  draw  upon  the  General 
Treasury  for  the  expense  thereof. 

True  copy— witness,  HENRY  BOWEN,  Secretary. 


Newport,  May  5,  1843. 
Gentlemen, — Acknowledging,  with  just  sensibility,  the  honor  con- 
ferred upon  me  by  the  General  Assembly,  I  hereby  comply  with  the 
request  so  courteously  communicated  to  me  in  your  note  of  yesterday. 
Let  me  hope  that  I  shall  not  too  far  presume  upon  the  indulgence  of  the 
General  Assembly,  by  adding  to  the  Address  a  few  historical  notes 
which,  from  the  limited  time  allotted  to  me,  I  have,  thus  far,  been 
unable  to  prepare. 

1  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sincere  respect. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

WILLIAM  G.  GODDARD. 
Hon.  Albert  C.  Greene, 

Richard  K.  Randolph. 


NiwpoBT,  May  4, 1843. 
Sib, — The  Committee  of  the  citizens  of  Newport,  tender  to  you  their 
thanks  for  the  excellent  Address  delivered  by  you,  yesterday.  The 
resolutions  which  have  been  adopted  by  the  Legislature,  respecting  its 
publication,  have  anticipated  their  wishes  and  intentions  on  the  subject. 
They  can  only  second  the  invitation  of  that  honorable  Body,  and  express, 
in  behalf  of  their  fellow  citizens,  their  earnest  hope  that  you  will  be 
pleased  to  afford  to  the  public  generally  an  opportunity  to  participate  in 
the  gratification  experienced  by  the  audience,  yesterday. 
We  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servants, 

RICHARb  K.  RANDOLPH, 
NATHANIEL  S.  RUGGLES, 
C.  G.  PERRY, 
WILLIAM  B.  SWAN, 

Committee. 
W.  G.  GoDDARD,  Esq,. 


ADDRESS. 


Men  of  Rhode-Island  : 

What  means  this  gathering  of  the  people  ?  What 
stirs  the  deep  sympathies  of  the  general  mind  ?  Why- 
are  the  streets  of  this  ancient  Metropolis  thronged 
with  eager  and  exulting  crowds  ?  For  what  purpose 
have  we  entered  these  sacred  courts  ?  Why  do  1  see 
before  me  the  chief  Executive  Magistrate  of  Rhode- 
Island,  the  grave  legislators  of  Rhode-Island,  and  a 
brilliant  corps  of  the  citizen  soldiers  of  Rhode-Island? 
Have  we  all  come  hither  to  gaze  at  a  captivating 
pageant ;  to  exchange,  in  holiday  humor,  the  con- 
gratulations of  this  holiday  season ;  to  celebrate,  with 
heated  passions,  a  partisan  triumph,  and  to  waste, 
amid  pomp  and  festivity,  the  hours  which  should  be 
consecrated  to  freedom  and  to  truth  ?  God  forbid, 
my  fellow  citizens,  that  such  should  be  either  our 
duty  or  our  choice  !  God  forbid,  that,  at  such  a 
crisis  as  this,  we  should  look  away  from  the  essen- 
tial to  the  accidental — from  the  permanent  obliga- 
tions of  principle,  to  the  fugitive  interests  of  men — 
from  the  august  cause  of  Liberty  and  Law,  to  the 
poor  and  perishing  concerns  of  ordinary  political 
parties  !     I  know  you  too  well  to  think  that,  for  any 


such  purposes,  you  have  come  together,  upon  the 
present  occasion.  Far  nobler  impulses  than  a  mere 
contest  for  political  power  hath  ever  created,  now 
agitate  your  hearts,  and  bid  you  to  pour  forth,  from 
all  that  is  within  you,  the  voice  of  deep  and  tranquil 
joy,  at  our  final  dehver^nce  from  trouble ;  and  of  sol- 
emn thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God  for  the  signal  in- 
terpositions, in  our  behalf,  of  his  watchful  care  and 
his  restraining  power.  We  are  here  assembled  to 
commemorate  the  triumph  of  "  the  sovereign  Law, 
the  State's  collected  will,"  over  treasonable  counsels, 
and  treasonable  acts — over  the  unchastened  fervors 
of  the  revolutionary  spirit,  and  the  actual  perils  ot 
revolutionary  strife.  We  are  assembled,  likewise,  to 
look,  for  the  last  time,  and  with  reverent  eyes  may 
it  be,  upon  that  venerable  frame  of  civil  government, 
the  work,  and,  under  God,  the  protection  of  our  fa- 
thers, which  embodies  the  seminal  principles  ot 
civil  and  religious  liberty  ;  and  which,  for  nearly  two 
hundred  years,  has  showered  upon  this  our  goodly 
heritage  the  rich  blessings  of  peace,  prosperity,  free- 
dom and  honor.  And  yet  more,  we  have  assem- 
bled, fellow  citizens,  to  witness  the  organization  of 
the  government  under  that  new  Constitution,  which 
the  people  of  Rhode-Island,  in  the  exercise  of  their 
sovereign  power,  have  ordained  and  established — 
to  the  end  that  they  might  secure  and  transmit,  un- 
impaired, to  succeeding  generations,  the  civil  and 
religious  liberty  enjoyed  under  the  Charter. 

This,  then,  is  a  crisis  without  a  parallel  in  the  po- 
litical history  of  Rhode-Island — and  without  a  par- 
allel, it  would  not  be  too  much  to  add,  in  the  politi- 


cal  history  of  any  free  government.  How  many 
chords  of  solemn  interest  does  it  touch  !  How  closely 
it  links  itself  with  the  associations  of  the  Past  and  the 
destinies  of  the  Future!  What  touching  memories 
does  it  awaken  of  the  venerated  and  heroic  dead,  who 
once  adorned  this  ancient  seat  of  wealth,  and  talent, 
and  social  elegance,*  and  who  now  slumber  amid  these 
scenes  of  placid  and  imperishable  beauty  !  How  im- 
pressively does  it  admonish  us  of  the  dangers  to 
which  popular  freedom  is  most  exposed ;  and  with 
what  eloquent  earnestness  does  it  exhort  us,  by  the 
use  of  every  instrumentality  within  our  power,  to  save 
from  destruction  what,  next  to  Christianity,  would 
seem  to  be  the  great  element  of  human  progress  ! 

1  do  not  mean,  fellow-citizens,  to  dwell  long  amid 
the  depths  of  our  early  history.  The  generous  sym- 
pathies which  animate  all  hearts,  at  the  present  hour, 
would  be  somewhat  impatient  of  the  labors  of  mi- 
nute and  elaborate  historical  research.  Without, 
therefore,  intruding  upon  the  province  of  the  histor- 
ian, I  shall  glance  only  at  those  epochs  in  the  early 
history  of  Rhode-Island,  which  may  serve  to  illus- 
trate the  principles  of  our  fathers — principles  which 
impressed  themselves  upon  all  the  forms  of  their  civil 
polity,  and  which,  so  far  as  taste,  habit,  and  opinion 
are  concerned,  determined  their  whole  system  of 
common  hfe. 

In  1636,  Roger  Williams  and  his  associates  in  the 
great  work  of  founding  a  State  upon  the  principles 
of  entire  religious  freedom,  and  of  unmixed  democ- 

*  Appendix,  Note  A. 


10 

racy,  commenced  the  settlement  of  that  spot,  to 
which,  in  grateful  remembrance  of  "  God's  merciful 
Providence  to  him  in  distress,"  he  gave  the  name  of 
Providence.  They  transacted  in  town  meetings, 
monthly,  the  affairs  of  their  infant  colony ;  but  of 
these  meetings,  unhappily,  no  record*  has  been  pre- 
served. That,  at  an  early  period,  "the  first  comers" 
regulated  themselves,  by  some  general  rules,  may, 
however,  be  inferred,  from  the  following  simple  cove- 
nant, which  is  copied  from  the  first  book  ol  the  re- 
cordsf  of  the  town.  To  this  covenant  no  date  is 
affixed,  but  Knowles  expresses  a  decided  opinion 
that  it  was  drawn  up  by  Roger  Williams  : 

"  We,  whose  names  are  here  under,  desirous  to 
inhabit  in  the  town  of  Providence,  do  promise  to 
subject  ourselves,  in  active  or  passive  obedience, 
to  all  such  orders  or  agreements  as  shall  be  made 
for  public  good  of  the  body  in  an  orderly  way,  by 
the  major  assent  of  the  present  inhabitants,  masters 
of  families,  incorporated  together  into  a  town-fellow- 
ship, and  such  others  whom  they  sliall  admit  unto  them, 
only  in  civil  things." 

This  simple  instrument,  as  is  justly  remarked  by 
Knowles,  in  his  Memoir  of  Roger  Williams,  com- 

*  In  March,  1676,  Providence  was  attacked  by  the  Indians,  and  twen- 
ty-nine houses  were  burnt,  in  one  of  which  the  records  of  the  town  were 
kept.  To  preserve  them  from  the  flames,  the  records  were  thrown  into 
a  mill  pond,  from  which  they  were  recovered  in  a  mutilated  state. 

i  "  That  there  existed  some  kind  of  an  agreement  between  the  first 
settlers,  '  masters  of  families,'  is  apparent  from  the  terms  of  these  articles. 
They  are  referred  tc  as  a  town,  as  incorporated  together  into  'a  town 
fellowship.'  And  it  is  equally  certain  that  the  first  agreement,  whether 
in  writing  or  not,  provided  for  obedience  '  in  civil  things  only,'  other- 
wise this  would  not  have  been  so  guarded." — Staples's  Jinnah. 


11 

bines  the  principles  of  pure  democracy  and  unre- 
stricted religious  liberty.  Only  in  civil  things! 
What  a  pregnant  exception  do  these  few  words  em- 
body !  How  emphatically  do  they  recognise  the  great 
principle  of  the  entire  sanctity  of  the  conscience, 
which  our  fathers  were  the  first  to  establish,  and 
which  their  children,  1  trust,  to  the  remotest  generi- 
tions,  will  be  the  last  to  abandon.  It  will  not  escape 
remark,  that  no  person  could  become  a  member  of 
this  "  town-fellowship,"  unless  he  had  been  admitted 
to  the  rights  and  privileges  of  membership.  In  those 
primitive  days,  the  judgments  and  consciences  of 
men  were  not  betrayed  from  all  true  estimates  of 
things,  by  the  poor  conceits  of  metaphysical  politi- 
cians. What  would  have  been  thought,  two  hundred 
years  ago,  of  the  plea  of  a  natural  right,  on  the  part 
of  every  man  over  twenty-one  years  of  age,  to  be 
admitted  a  member  of  this  memorable  "town-fellow- 
ship!" 

In  1637-8,  Clarke,  Coddington,  and  their  associ- 
ates, commenced  a  settlement  upon  this  beautiful 
island,*  which,  says  Callender,  was  in  1644,  named 
the  isle  of  Rhodes,  or  Rhode-Island — a  name  ulti- 
mately given  to  the  whole  State.  The  adventurers 
established  "  a  body  politic"  under  the  following 
simple  compact,  which  marks  a  spirit  of  humble  de- 
pendance  upon  Almighty  God,  never  more  predomi- 

*Thc  northern  part  of  the  island  was  first  occupied,  and  called  Ports- 
mouth. The  number  of  colonists  being  increased  during  the  summer,  a 
portion  of  the  inhabitants  removed  next  spring  to  the  south-western  part 
of  the  island,  where  they  commenced  the  town  of  Newport.  Both  towns^ 
however,  were  considered  as  belonging  to  the  same  Colony. 

Knowles's  Mcrnoir  of  Roger   Williams, 


12 

nant  than  amid  the  subhmities  of  primeval  sohtude, 
and  the  rage  of  elemental  war : 

"  We,  whose  names  are  underwritten,  do  swear 
solemnly,  in  the  presence  of  Jehovah,  to  incorporate 
ourselves  into  a  body  politicy  and,  as  he  shall  help  us, 
will  submit  our  persons,  lives  and  estates,  unto  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of 
lords,  and  to  all  those  most  perfect  and  absolute 
laws  of  His,  given  us  in  His  holy  word  of  truth,  to 
be  guided  and  judged  thereby." 

Under  this  compact,  a  government  somewhat  pe- 
culiar, and  in  form  not  dissimilar  to  a  theocracy, 
was  established.  It  did  not,  however,  last  long.  Our 
forefathers  were  too  much  wedded  to  democracy 
and  to  religious  freedom,  to  tolerate  any  institutions 
to  which  those  grand,  moving  principles  of  human 
progress  did  not  give  their  form  and  pressure. 

In  March,  1641-2,  the  first  government  establish- 
ed upon  this  island  was  moulded  into  a  truer  practi- 
cal conformity  to  the  cherished  sentiment  of  the  first 
settlers.  At  "  a  General  Court  of  Election,"  it  was 
ordered  and  unanimously  agreed  that  this  govern- 
ment was  "  a  democracy,  or  popular  government," 
and  that  the  power  to  make  laws  and  to  depute 
magistrates  to  execute  them,  was  '*  in  the  body  of 
freemen  orderly  assembled,  or  a  major  part  of  them." 
At  the  same  time,  was  passed  a  law  for  securing  lib- 
erty of  conscience,  in  these  memorable  words : — 
"  It  is  further  ordered,  by  the  authority  of  this  pres- 
ent court,  that  none  be  accounted  a  delinquent  for 
Doctrine,  provided  it  be  not  directly  repugnant  to 
the  government  or  laws  established."     And,  at  the 


13 

next  court  in  September,  1642,  it  was  ordered  "that 
the  law  of  the  last  court,  made  concerning  liberty 
of  conscience,  be  perpetuated.  All  these  acts  go  to 
show  that  the  first  settlers  of  Providence  and  the 
first  settlers  of  Newport  were  united,  in  opinion 
and  in  feeling,  upon  the  great  leading  principles 
which  have  marked  throughout,  and  so  strongly,  the 
institutions  and  policy  of  this  State.  In  this  con- 
nection, another  example  of  the  early  legislation  of 
the  settlers  upon  this  island,  ought  to  find  a  place. 
In  1638,  they  "ordered  that  none  shall  be  received 
as  inhabitants  or  freemen  to  build  or  plant  upon  the 
island,  hut  such  as  slmll  be  received  in  by  consent 
of  the  body,  and  do  submit  to  the  government  that 
is  or  shall  be  established  according  to  the  words  of 
God."  This  is  "law  and  order"  in  a  nut-shell! 
Little  did  these  simple  colonists — these  early  demo- 
crats in  faith  and  in  practice,  dream  of  those  licen- 
tious and  disorganizing  doctrines  which  are  broach- 
ed by  our  modern  demagogues,  and  which,  if  not 
repudiated  by  the  good  men  and  true  of  all  political 
parties,  will  inevitably  destroy  the  securities  of  tem- 
perate freedom  throughout  the  land  ! 

Under  these  simple  compacts,  suited  to  the  con- 
dition of  pioneers  in  the  march  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  our  fathers  continued  to  live  and  to  prosper, 
— administering  their  civil  governments  upon  the 
true  principles  of  democracy  ;  and,  in  all  matters 
of  religious  concernment,  maintaining  inviolate  the 
sacred  rights  of  conscience. 

In  1644,  the  towns  of  Providence,  Portsmouth 
and  Newport,  which  had  thus  far  been  separate  set- 


14 

tlements  or  townships,  were  united  under  one  gov- 
ernment, by  a  Charter  which  Roger  WilHams^ 
through  the  aid  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  obtained  from 
the  Pariiament  under  the  Commonwealth  of  Eng- 
land. This  Charter  conferred  upon  the  inhabitants 
"  full  power  and  authority  to  govern  and  rule  them- 
selves, by  such  a  form  of  civil  government  as  by 
voluntary  consent  of  all  or  the  greatest  part  of  them, 
shall  be  found  most  serviceable  in  their  estates  and 
condition" — provided  such  form  of  civil  govern- 
ment "  be  conformable  to  the  laws  of  England,  so 
far  £is  the  nature  and  constitution  of  the  place  will 
admit."*  For  reasons  which,  in  the  absence  of  au- 
thentic history,  we  are  left  to  conjecture,  the  gov- 
ernment was  not  organized  under  this  Charter,  till 
May  1647,  when  the  first  session  of  the  first  General 
Assembly  of  Rhode- Island  was  held  at  Portsmouth. 
"Warwick  was  then  admitted  into  the  association, 
with  the  same  privileges  as  Providence.f  The  acts 
of  this  session  are  perfectly  accordant  with  the 
principles  of  our  fathers.     They  manifest  a  great 

*  The  powers  conferred  by  the  Charter  are  exceedingly  ample.  No 
form  of  government  is  prescribed,  and  the  choice  of  every  officer  is  left 
to  the  inhabitants.  In  strict  conformity,  too,  with  the  leading  principle 
of  the  settlements,  it  refers  only  to  civil  government.  The  inhabitants 
are  empowered  to  make  "  civil  laws  for  their  civil  government."  The 
colonists  had  always  contended  that  their  right  to  perfect  religious  liberty 
did  not  result  from  human  laws.  They  could  not,  therefore,  have  ac- 
cepted a  grant  of  tills  from  any  human  power,  as  that  would  be  acknow- 
ledging a  right  to  withhold  the  grant,  and  to  control  the  exercise  of  re-- 
ligious  {reedom.— Staples' s  '■'■Annals  of  the  Town  of  Providence." 

t  Warwick  was  settled  in  1643,  by  a  body  of  men  unconnected  with 
the  colonists  of  Providence,  Newport  and  Portsmouth.  Thus  were  es- 
tablished in  Rhode-Island,  three  distinct  settlements,  which,  at  the  com- 
mencement, were  entirely  independent  of  each  other. 


15 

jealousy  of  delegated  power,  a  sacred  regard  for  the 
protection  of  individual  right,  and  an  unfaltering 
attachment  to  the  cause  of  religious  liberty.  "  The 
code  of  laws  which  was  ordained  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Colony  contains,"  says  Mr.  Justice 
Staples,  in  his  Annals  of  the  Town  of  Providence, 
"nothing  touching  religion  or  matters  of  conscience, 
thus  pursuing  the  same  silent  yet  most  expressive 
legislation  on  the  subject  which  was  commenced  in 
the  Charter  itself."  That  portion  of  the  code  rela- 
ting to  offences  is  followed  by  a  declaration,  so  sig- 
nificant of  the  spirit  which  moved  our  fathers,  and 
so  full  of  genuine  eloquence,  that  its  repetition  can 
never  fall  unheeded  upon  the  ears  of  any  of  their 
sons: 

"  These  are  the  laws  that  concern  all  men,  and 
these  are  the  penalties  for  the  transgression  thereof, 
which,  by  common  consent,  are  ratified  and  estab- 
hshed  throughout  the  whole  Colony  ;  and  otherwise 
than  this,  what  is  herein  forbidden,  all  men  may 
walk,  as  their  consciences  persuade  them,  every  one 
in  the  name  of  his  God.  And  let  the  Saints  of  the 
Most  High  walk,  in  this  Colony,  without  molesta- 
tion, in  the  name  of  Jehovah  their  God,  forever  and 
ever." 

"  This  noble  principle,"  says  the  biographer  of 
Roger  Williams,  "  was  thus  established  as  one  of 
the  fundamental  laws,  at  the  first  Assembly  under 
the  Charter.  It  is  indigenous  to  the  soil  of  Rhode- 
Island,  and  is  the  glory  of  the  State."  Bancroft, 
the  distinguished  Historian  of  the  United  States, 
thus   happily   describes  the   internal    condition   of 


16 

Rhode- Island,  under  the  first  Charter :  "  All  men 
were  equal ;  all  might  meet  and  debate  in  the  pub- 
lic assemblies ;  all  might  aspire  to  office  ;  the  peo- 
ple, for  a  season,  constituted  itself  its  own  tribune, 
and  every  public  law  required  confirmation  in  the 
primary  assemblies.  And  so  it  caine  to  pass  that 
the  little  "  democracie  "  which,  at  the  beat  of  the 
drum  or  the  voice  of  the  herald,  used  to  assemble 
beneath  an  oak  or  by  the  open  sea-side,  was  famous 
for  its  "headiness  and  tumults" — its  stormy  town- 
meetings  and  the  angry  feuds  of  its  herdsmen  and 
shepherds.  But,  true  as  the  needle  to  the  pole,  the 
popular  will  instinctively  pursued  the  popular  inter- 
est. Amidst  the  jarring  quarrels  of  rival  statesmen 
in  the  plantations,  good  men  were  chosen  to  admin- 
ister the  government,  and  the  spirit  of  mercy,  of  lib- 
erality and  wisdom  was  impressed  on  its  legislation." 
Every  man  was  safe  in  his  person,  name  and  estate. 
Such  were  the  people  of  Rhode-Island  two  hundred 
years  ago.  Time  hath  changed  none  of  the  essen- 
tial elements  of  their  character  and  condition.  They 
are  not  less  anxious  now  than  they  were  then,  that 
the  laws  should  be  respected ;  that  good  men  should 
be  elected  to  office ;  that  liberty  should  be  enjoyed 
without  licentiousness;  and  that  the  spirit  of  mercy, 
liberality  and  wisdom,  should  mark  all  the  proceed- 
ings of  their  government. 

And  now  for  the  glorious  old  charter,  the  much 
abused  royal  Charter,  which  has  been  superseded, 
not  because  it  is  old,  and  not  because  it  is  stigma- 
tised as  the  grant  of  a  King,  but  because,  in  the 
order  of  Providence,  it  has  done  its  office !     At 


17 

the  Restoration  of  Charles  11.,  in  1660,  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  Colony  of  Rhode-Island  feared  that 
those  rights  which  they  had  obtained  from  the  Par- 
liament, under  the  Commonwealth,  when  at  war 
with  the  father,  would  not  be  respected  by  the  son. 
They  had  also  reason  to  fear  that  the  exertions  of 
their  neighbors — for  our  neighbors,  even  then,  thrust 
their  sickle  into  our  corn — to  obtain  the  recal  of  the 
Charter,  would  now  be  repeated,  and  with  better 
success.  They  therefore  adopted  wise  precaution- 
ary measures  to  avert  the  threatened  danger.  They 
entrusted  to  John  Clarke,  the  agent  of  the  colony 
in  England,  and  a  name  illustrious  in  the  annals  of 
Rhode-Island,  a  new  commission,  investing  him  with 
full  powers  to  take  good  care  of  their  chartered 
rights  and  liberties.  The  faithful  labors  of  Clarke, 
"  our  trusty  and  well-beloved  friend,"  were  not  in 
vain.  On  the  8th  of  July  1663,  he  obtained  from 
Charles  11.,  that  Charter  under  which,  for  nearly 
two  hundred  years,  Rhode-Island  has  exhibited  the 
model  of  a  free,  prosperous  and  happy  common- 
wealth. The  Colonists  welcomed,  with  no  com- 
mon joy,  the  arrival  of  "  George  Baxter,  the  most 
faithful  and  happy  bringer  of  the  Charter."  Here, 
on  this  beautiful  spot,  on  tlie  24th  of  November, 
1663,  the  whole  body  of  the  people  gathered  to- 
gether, "  for  the  solemn  reception  of  his  Majesty's 
gracious  letters  patent."  The  Charter,  so  says  the 
ancient  record,  "'  was  taken  forth  irom  the  pre- 
cious box  which  held  it,  and  was  read  by  Baxter,  in 
the  audience  and  view  of  all  the  people ;  and  the 
letters,  with  his  Majesty's  royal  stamp,  and  the  broad 
3 


18 

seal,  with  much  beseeming  gravity,  were  held  up  on 
high,  and  presented  to  the  perfect  view  of  the 
people."  The  most  humble  thanks  of  the  Colony 
were  directed  to  be  returned  to  his  Majesty  "  for 
the  high  and  inestimable,  yea,  incomparable  grace 
and  favor ;"  to  the  Hon.  Earl  of  Clarendon,  Lord 
High  Chancellor  of  England,  for  his  exceeding 
great  care  and  love  unto  the  Colony,  and  to  the 
modest  and  retiring  Clarke,  who  during  a  residence 
of  twelve  years  in  England,  from  1651  to  1663,  was 
'he  devoted  and  indefatigable  agent  of  the  Colony.* 
"  How,"  says  Bancroft,  "  could  Rhode-Island  be 
otherwise  than  grateful  to  Charles  H.,  who  had 
granted  to  them  all  that  they  had  asked,  and  who 
rehed  on  their  affections,  without  exacting  even 
the  oath  of  allegiance !"  "A  very  great  meeting 
and  assembly  "  do  I  now  see  gathered  on  this  spot, 
to  hail  the  adoption  of  a  new  Constitution,  and  to 
pay  a  tribute  of  grateful  reverence  to  that  Charter 
which  our  fathers,  in  1663,  welcomed  with  tokens 
of  general  joy.  Recreant  should  we  be  to  the  mem- 
ory of  those  fathers,  if  we  could  take  our  leave  of 
this  time-honored  instrument,  without  a  sentiment  of 
gentle  regret,  that  it  can  no  longer  be  rescued  from 
the  operation  of  the  great  law  of  change. 

My  fellow-citizens :  Quite  too  familiar  are  you 
with  the  Charter,  to  require,  at  my  hands,  any  ex- 
act or  formal  statement  of  its  provisions.!  You  need 
not  be  told,  that  it  was  granted  to  the  people,  in  an- 
swer to  their  request ;  that  it  was  formally  accept- 
ed by  a  vote  of  the  people  ;  that  it  established  what 

*  Appendix,  Note  B.  t  Apjiondix,  Nnfp  C 


19 

Chalmers,  a  writer  devoted  to  regal  principles,  pro- 
nounced, somewhat  querulously,  to  be  "  a  mere  de- 
mocracy, or  rule  of  the  people  ;"'  and,  finally,  that 
whatever  changes,  from  time  to  time,  it  may  have 
undergone,  have  been  ratified,  not  only  by  the  silent 
acquiesence,  but  by  the  positive  sanction  of  the  peo- 
ple. And  yet  this  is  the  fi'ame  of  civil  government, 
which,  at  home  and  abroad,  has  been  the  theme  of 
so  much  vulgar  obloquy,  and  so  much  flippant  sar- 
casm. This  is  the  frame  of  civil  government,  which 
has  been,  again  and  again,  branded  as  a  royal  charter, 
as  a  despotism  and  usurpation,  under  which  a  free 
people  should  scorn  to  live  !* 

The  professional  skill  with  which  the  Charter  is 
draughted,  though  among  its  subordinate  merits,  de- 
serves a  passing  comment.  How  dignified  and  per- 
spicuous is  its  language  !  What  a  choice  specimen  of 
English  undefiled !  How  luminous  is  the  arrange- 
ment of  its  provisions ;  how  comprehensive  and 
unambiguous  the  terms  in  which  it  secures  to  the 
people,  not  only  perfect  liberty  of  conscience, 
in  matters  of  religion,  but  likewise  the  almost  un- 
restricted power  to  govern  themselves  "  in  civil 
things !"  The  chief  glory,  however  of  the  old  Char- 
ter, is  the  ample  security  which  it  provides  for  relig- 
ious liberty.  To  an  assembly  of  Rhode-Island  men, 
I  need  not  apologise,  for  repeating,  on  an  occasion 
like  the  present,  the  noble  and  ever  memorable  dec- 
laration of  the  Charter.     "  No  person  within  the  said 

"  Vide  Marcus  Morton's  loiter,  in  answer  to  an  invitation  from  "  tlie 
ladies  of  Woonsocket,"  to  attend  tlieir  "Clam  Bake  and  Pic  Nic,"  in 
October  last  ' 


20 

Colony,  at  any  time  hereafter,  shall  be  any  wise  mo- 
lested, punished,  disquieted,  or  called  in  question^ 
for  any  differences  in  opinion,  in  matters  of  reUgion, 
who  does  not  actually  disturb  the  peace  of  our  said 
Colony  ;  but  that  all  and  every  person  and  persons 
may,  from  time  to  time,  and  at  all  times  hereafter, 
freely  and  fully  have  and  enjoy  his  own  and  their 
judgments  and  consciences,  in  matters  of  religious 
concernments,  throughout  the  tract  of  land  hereto- 
fore mentioned,  they  behaving  themselves  peaceably 
and  quietly  and  not  using  this  liberty  to  licentious- 
ness and  profaneness,  nor  to  the  civil  injury  or  out- 
ward disturbance  of  others."  It  is  grateful  to  know 
that  this  memorable  declaration,  which  indicates  on 
the  subject  of  religion  a  cathoUc  spirit  quite  in  ad- 
vance of  the  prevalent  spirit  of  the  age,  was  but  a 
response  to  the  petition  of  our  forefathers,  in  which 
they  "freely  declared,  that,  it  is  much  on  their  hearts 
(if  they  be  permitted)  to  hold  forth  a  lively  experi- 
ment, that  a  most  flourishing  civil  State  may  stand 
and  be  best  maintained,  and  that  among  our  English 
subjects,  with  a  full  liberty  in  religious  concernments ; 
and  that  true  piety,  rightly  grounded  upon  Gospel 
principles,  will  give  the  best  and  greatest  security 
to  sovereignty,  and  will  lay  in  the  hearts  of  men  the 
strongest  obligations  to  loyalty." 

The  principles  of  entire  religious  freedom  on 
which  this  State  was  founded,  have  impressed  them- 
selves upon  all  our  institutions  ;  upon  our  religion, 
our  legislation,  our  politics,  and  upon  the  habits, 
manners,  and  opinions  of  our  social  life.*     No  rehg- 

*  Appendix,  Note  D 


lous  sect  has  ever  sought,  through  the  operation  of 
law,  to  obtain  pre-eminence  ;  and  the  various  rival 
sects,  which  exist  among  us,  have  seldom  suffered 
their  differences  of  opinion  to  betray  them  into 
very  wide  departures  from  true  Christian  liberality 
and  courtesy.  Bishop  Berkeley  spoke  from  his  own 
experience  of  this  place  and  people,  when,  in  a  let- 
ter to  a  friend  in  Dublin,  dated  Newport,  April  24th, 
1729,  (after  mentioning  the  various  sects  which  pre- 
vailed,) he  said,  "  Notwithstanding  so  many  differ- 
ences, here  are  fewer  quarrels  about  religion  than 
elsewhere,  the  people  hving  peaceably  with  their 
neighbors  of  whatsoever  persuasion."  What  was 
true  of  Newport,  more  than  a  century  ago,  was  not 
less  true,  it  is  believed,  of  other  towns  in  the  Colony, 
where  similar  differences  of  opinion  prevailed.  The 
testimony  of  Berkeley  would  not  be  inapplicable  to 
Rhode-Island,  at  the  present  time  ;  for,  nowhere  in 
this  country  are  collisions  between  rival  sects  less  in- 
frequent ;  nowhere  is  theological  controversy  less 
suited  to  the  public  taste  ;  and  nowhere  are  the  gra- 
cious interchanges  of  social  intercoure  so  little  inter- 
rupted by  sectarian  differences  of  opinion.  While, 
in  neighboring  States,  religious  sects  have  allied 
themselves  to  political  parties,  for  political  purposes, 
here,  in  Rhode-Island,  such  connexions  have  never 
been  attempted,  and,  if  attempted,  would  be  discoun- 
tenanced by  some  signal  exhibition  of  public  opin- 
ion. No  man  among  us  has  been  excluded  from 
office,  or  elected  to  office,  because  he  chanced  to 
belong  to  one  religious  sect  or  to  another.  The  leg- 
islation of  the  State,  in  respect  to  religious  corpora- 


tions,  has  been  strictly  impartial.  The  privileges 
which  have  been  granted  to  one  sect,  have  been 
granted  to  all — -and  those  which  may  have  been  de- 
nied to  one,  have  been  denied  to  all.  The  result  has 
been  most  auspicious.  The  State  has  never  inter- 
fered with  religion,  and  religion  has  been  left  with- 
out a  pretext  for  interfering  with  the  State. 

The  extraordinary  prosperity  which,  with  few  in-' 
terruptions,  the  people  of  this  State  have  enjoyed, 
since  1663,  evinces  with  what  wisdom  and  equity 
our  Charter  government  has  been  administered. 
Wholesome  and  equal  laws^  suited  to  the  condition 
of  the  community,  have  been  enacted  by  a  Legisla- 
ture composed  of  men  chosen  directly  by  the  peo- 
ple, having  a  common  interest  with  them-'^and  hav- 
ing, therefore,  less  temptation  to  impose  oppressive 
burthens  or  to  usurp  dangerous  powers.  Justice, 
civil  and  criminal,  has  been  promptly,  cheaply  and 
impartially  administered.  Men  of  all  classes,  assur-^ 
ed  that  their  rights  were  safe  under  the  protection 
of  the  law,  have  been  busy  in  bettering  their  own 
condition.  The  results  are  what  might  have  been 
anticipated.  Since  the  reception  of  the  Charter, 
twenty-seven  new  towns  have  been  incorporated — ' 
the  population  of  the  State  has  increased  from  2,500 
to  over  one  hundred  thousand — ^agriculture  has  de- 
veloped  the  capacities  of  our  soil ;  commerce  has 
decorated  our  cities  with  its  spoils ;  and  manufac-^ 
tures,  and  that  too  within  the  last  thirty  years,  have 
dotted  our  territory  with  thriving  villages.  Above 
all,  religion  and  letters  have  superadded  to  abundant 
physical  comforts  ample  means  to  carry  forward  this 


23 

whole  people  in  an  elevated  career  of  intellectual 
and  moral  happiness.  Exorbitant  wealth  may  sel- 
dom or  never  have  been  acquired  ;  but,  what  is  far 
better  for  the  good  of  the  whole,  enterprise,  frugali- 
ty, sagacity  and  diligence,  have  been  rewarded  by 
those  moderate  accumulations  which  are  attended 
with  the  least  hazard  to  human  virtue,  which  are 
best  suited  to  the  genius  of  our  republican  institu- 
tions, and  which  are  less  likely  to  be  wasted  in  vi- 
cious extravagance,  or  periled  upon  the  issues  of 
mad  speculation. 

The  government  of  Rhode-Island,  under  the 
Charter,  has  been  eminently  a  government  of  Law 
and  Order.*  Antagonist  political  parties  have  min- 
gled in  hot  strife ;  but,  amid  all  their  struggles  for 
superiority,  they  have  never  laid  a  rude  hand  upon 
the  ark  of  constitutional  freedom.  The  men  who 
governed  the  State  owned  the  -State.  This  is  the 
grand  secret  of  the  genuine  freedom  and  the  extra- 
ordinary peace  and  prosperity  which  the  people 
have  enjoyed  under  the  Charter.  "  Nowhere  in  the 
world,"  says  Bancroft,  "  have  life,  liberty  and  pro- 
perty, been  safer  than  in  Rhode-Island  I"  Well  may 
we  exclaim,  in  the  somewhat  quaint  but  expressive 
language  of  one  of  our  early  colonial  documents, 
"  we  have  long  drank  of  the  cup  of  as  great  liber- 
ties as  any  people  that  we  can  hear  of  under  the 
whole  heaven  !" 

Can  we  pass,  my  fellow-citizens,  without  emotions 
allied  to  those  of  filial  sorrow,  from  under  the  be- 
neficent dominion  of  the   old  Charter — the  oldest 

*  Appendix,  Note  F 


24 

constitutional  Charter  in  the  world  ?  Can  we  take 
our  leave  of  this  ancient  and  excellent  frame  of 
civil  polity,  without  being  penetrated  with  senti- 
ments of  gratitude  for  the  rich  blessings  of  which  it 
has  been  the  parent  to  this  State,  through  all  the  vi- 
cissitudes of  her  being  ?  Can  we  ever  lose  the  con- 
viction that  this  Charter  contains  principles  destined 
never  to  perish  ?  Can  we  ever  forget  that  it  was 
under  the  Charter,  that  Hopkins  and  EUery  affixed 
their  signatures  to  the  immortal  Declaration  of 
American  Independence ;  that,  under  the  Charter, 
"  the  Rhode-Island  Line  "  stood  foremost  in  fighting 
the  battles  of  liberty  ;  that,  under  the  Charter,  this 
State  joined  the  Confederacy  established  by  the  glo- 
rious old  thirteen ;  and,  finally,  that  it  was  under 
the  Charter,  that  Rhode-Island,  by  the  adoption  of 
the  American  Constitution,  added  the  last  link  to 
that  chain  of  more  perfect  union  which  binds  these 
States  together?  How  inseparable,  likewise,  is  the 
Charter  from  all  our  memories,  not  only  of  the 
deeds,  but  of  the  men  of  other  times  !  How  viv- 
idly does  it  recal  to  our  minds  distinguished  politi- 
cians, who,  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  since, 
mixed  themselves  so  largely  with  our  counsels  and 
our  strifes,  and  who,  it  is  sad  to  think,  have  nearly 
all  departed  !  How  lively,  at  an  hour  like  this,  are 
our  recollections  of  the  cultivated,  vigorous,  and 
eminently  practical  mind  of  James  Burrill ;  the  in- 
flexible uprightness  and  varied  attainments  of  Sam- 
uel Eddy  ;  the  extraordinary  intellectual  and  politi- 
cal ascendency,  early  acquired  and  to  the  last  main- 
tained, by  Elisha  R.    Potter;    and   the  searching 


26 

toalysis,  the  dialectic  skill,  the  effective,  but  neter 
vehement  eloquence,  of  Benjamin  Hazard.*  These 
recollections  of  distinguished  Rhode-Island  men,  who 
are  no  longer  among  us,  should  not  be  permitted  to 
escape  from  our  minds,  without  admonishing  us  of 
the  high  duties  which  we  owe  to  the  State.  Never, 
perhaps,  at  any  previous  crisis  in  her  history,  has 
Rhode-Island  more  needed  the  aid  of  wise  and  pat- 
riotic and  intrepid  counsellors.  She  is  about  to  em- 
bark, under  new  auspices,  in  a  new  career.  See 
ye  to  it.  Legislators  and  Men  of  Rhode-Island,  that 
this  new  career  be  commenced  aright,  upon  princi- 
ples which  will  stand  the  test,  long  after  you  and  1 
shall  have  been  gathered  unto  our  fathers !  The 
ANCHOR  of  Rhode-Island  hath  clung  through  many  a 
storm ;  her  hope,  "  untaught  to  yield,"  has  shed 
light  upon  many  a  disastrous  hour.f  Surely,  it  can 
never  be  that  the  future  is  destined  to  shame  the 
past — that  the  halcyon  days  after  the  tempest  are  to 
bring  in  aught  but  just,  and  wise,  and  magnanimous 
counsels — to  be  the  crowning  triumph  of  our  noble 
struggle  in  the  cause  of  temperate  and  durable 
freedom  ! 

In  dismissing  from  our  consideration,  on  the  pres- 
ent occasion,  that  excellent  system  of  government, 
which  is  fastened  to  our  affections  by  so  many  ties, 
I  rejoice  to  be  able  to  congratulate  you,  in  all  sin- 
cerity, upon  the  establishment  of  a  truly  liberal  Con- 

*  Appendix,  Note  F. 

t  At  the  May  session  of  the   General  Assembly,  in  1664,  the  seal  of 
the  Colony  was  fixed,  an  anchor,  with  the  word  Hope  over  it. 

4 


26 

Btitution,  better  suited,  in  some  respects,  than  the 
Charter,  to  the  actual  condition  of  things  in  Rhode- 
Island — a  Constitution  adopted  by  the  people  in  their 
sovereign  capacity,  and  under  the  sanction,  and 
according  to  the  forms  of  law.  The  Conven- 
tion which  framed  the  Constitution  was  constituted 
upon  a  popular  basis — every  male  native  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  of  competent  age,  being  allowed 
to  vote  for  delegates,  without  other  qualification  than 
a  residence  within  the  State  sufficiently  long  to  be 
deemed  evidence  of  some  common  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  the  State.  Never  in  this,  nor  in  any  State 
within  this  Union,  has  a  grave  deliberative  body  as- 
sembled under  circumstances  so  extraordinary,  de- 
manding more  moral  courage,  more  disinterested 
patriotism,  or  a  wiser  application  of  the  lessons  of 
practical  political  wisdom.  This  Convention,  as  you 
well  know,  was  composed  of  men,  distinguished  for 
talent  and  character  ;  familiar  with  the  interests  of 
Rhode-Island,  and  animated,  in  all  their  doings,  by  a 
true  Rhode-Island  spirit.  They  addressed  them- 
selves to  their  work,  with  the  determination  to  frame 
a  Constitution  which  should  be  adapted  to  the  pe- 
culiar condition  of  this  State,  and  which  should  re- 
flect, not  the  passions  of  excited  masses — not  the 
speculations  of  theoretical  politicians — but  the  sober 
and  deliberate  judgments  and  wishes  of  the  whole 
people,  upon  matters  of  general  and  lasting  con- 
cern. This  work  they  accomplished  with  eminent 
success.  The  Constitution  which  they  framed,  and 
submitted  to  the  people,  was  adopted  by  a  very  de- 
cided vote  of  the  people  ;  and,  at  the  recent  elec- 


27 

tion,  its  validity  was  practically  acknowledged  by  a 
more  imposing  manifestation  of  popular  sentiment 
than,  in  this  State,  was  ever  before  seen.*  To  the 
great  value  of  some  of  its  principal  provisions,  I  beg 
leave,  for  a  few  moments,  to  direct  your  attention. 

The  Constitution  under  which  the  government  of 
Rhode-Island  has  just  been  organized,  abrogates  the 
freehold  qualification,  as  an  exclusive  qualification, 
and  makes  provision  for  an  extension  of  the  right  of 
suffrage,  far  more  liberal  than  was  either  sought  or  ex- 
pected, when  the  suffrage  movement,  as  it  is  termed, 
was  begun.f  Liberal  enough  it  may  not  be,  to  suit 
the  notions  of  those  who  contend  that  every  man  in 
Rhode-Island,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  has  a  natu- 
ral right  to  vote.  Liberal  enough  it  may  not  be,  to 
facilitate  the  plans  of  demagogues  who  seek,  by  in- 
flaming the  passions  of  concentrated  masses,  to 
hold  in  their  own  hands  the   whole   political  power 

*  TIio  wliolo  number  of  votes  given  for  General  Officers,  at  the  first 
election  under  the  Constitution,  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  April  last, 
was  about  16,600.  The  average  majority  in  favor  of  the  "Law  and  Or- 
der "  candidates,  was  1802. 

t  Suffrage,  by  the  Constitution,  is  extended  to  every  native  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  of  the  afre  of  twenty-one  years,  who  has  had  his  resi- 
dence and  home  in  tlie  State  for  two  years,  and  in  the  town  or  city  where 
he  offers  to  vote,  six  months  next  preceding  the  time  of  voting,  whose 
name  sliall  be  registered  in  the  town  where  he  resides,  on  or  before  the 
last  day  of  December,  in  the  year  next  preceding  the  time  of  his  voting, 
and  who  has,  within  such  year,  paid  a  tax  or  taxes  assessed  against  him, 
in  any  town  or  city  in  the  State,  to  the  amount  of  one  dollar,  or  has  been 
enrolled  in  a  military  company,  been  equipped,  and  done  duty  therein, 
according  to  law,  at  least  for  one  day,  during  such  year. 

Naturalized  citizens  are  required  to  have  a  freehold,  as  heretofore,  to 
entitle  them  to  vote.  And  no  person  can  vote  to  impose  a  tax  or  to  ex- 
pend money,  in  any  town  or  city,  unless  he  shall  have  paid  a  tax,  within 
the  year  next  preceding,  upon  property  valued  at  least  at  $134. —  Vids 
Constitution. 


of  the  State.  No  man  among  us,  however,  whq 
considers  the  extent  of  our  territory,  the  peculiar 
character  of  our  population — the  concentration,  in 
four  or  five  towns,  of  more  than  one  half  of  the 
whole  number  of  our  inhabitants — the  relative  de- 
chne  of  population  in  the  agricultural,  and  its  rapid 
increase  in  tlie  manufacturing  districts,  can,  with 
any  just  reason,  utter  a  complaint,  because  the  new 
Constitution  has  not  left  the  right  of  suffrage  entire- 
ly unrestricted.  In  States  of  large  territorial  extent, 
where  the  agricultural  interest  is  the  predominant 
interest,  universal  suffrage  may  encounter  some 
practical  and  efficient  checks  upon  its  otherwise  in- 
evitable tendencies  to  work  mischief.  In  Rhode- 
Island,  however,  such  salutary  checks  are  not  and 
never  can  be  found.  A  wholly  unrestricted  suffrage 
would,  therefore,  be  pregnant  with  incalculable  evils 
to  the  State.  It  would  jeopard  the  rights  of  prop- 
erty and  the  principles  of  liberty.  If  all  history  be 
not  a  he,  "  there  is  a  tendency  in  the  poor  to  covet 
and  to  share  the  plunder  of  the  rich ;  in  the  debtor, 
to  relax  or  avoid  the  obligation  of  contracts ;  in  the 
majority  to  tyrannize  over  the  minority,  and  trample 
down  their  rights ;  in  the  indolent  and  profligate  to 
cast  the  whole  burden  of  society  upon  the  industri- 
ous ;  and  there  is  a  tendency  in  ambitious  and  wick- 
ed men  to  inflame  these  combustible  materials."* 
If,  my  fellow-citizens,  you  desire  to  know  how  alarm- 
ing are  the  mischiefs  which  universal  suffragef  en- 

*  Chancellor  Kent's  Speech  on  the  elective  franchise  in  the  New- 
York  Convention,  1821. 

f  Rufus  King,  who  was  likewise  a  member  of  the  New- York  Conven- 
tion in  1821,  was  not  less  decided  in  his  opposition  to  universal  suffrage. 
In  his  opinion,  «»  no  government,  ancient  or  modern,  could  endure  it.' 


29 

tails  upon  a  community,  look  at  the  great  city  of 
New  York.  The  prophecy  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  has 
been  well  nigh  fulfilled.  The  character  of  her  voters 
is  such  as  to  render  her  elections  "  rather  a  curse 
than  a  blessing,"  and  to  "  drive  from  the  polls  all 
sober-minded  people."*  The  Empire  State,  if  not 
destined  to  govern  the  country,  is  destined  to  exert 
a  mighty  influence  upon  the  country.  In  less  than 
a  century,  the  city  of  New  York,  with  the  operation 
of  universal  suffrage,  and  under  skilful  direction, 
will  govern  the  State  of  New  York  !  Let  not  this 
impressive  example,  my  fellow-citizens,  be  lost 
upon  us.  Let  us  adhere,  and  steadfastly  adhere,  to 
the  provisions  relative  to  suffrage  established  by  the 
Constitution,  if  we  would  preserve  to  ourselves  the 
blessings  of  good  government ;  if,  in  the  language 
of  Washington,  we  would  "  make  the  public  ad- 
ministration not  the  mirror  of  the  ill-concerted  and 
incongruous  projects  of  faction,  but  the  organ  of 
consistent  and  wholesome  plans,  digested  by  com- 
mon counsels  and  modified  by  mutual  interests." 

In  the  constitution  of  the  legislative  department, 
are  likewise  to  be  observed  a  wise  adaptation  to  the 
peculiar  conditions  of  our  society,  and  at  the  same 
time,  practical  illustrations  of  a  cardinal  maxim  of 
political  philosophy.  The  House  of  Representatives 
is  constructed  upon  the  basis  of  population.  Thus 
is  redressed  that  inequality  of  representation,  of  which 
some  of  the  towns  have  long  complained  ;  and  thus, 
too,  is  given  to  mere  numbers  quite  as  much  power 

*  Mr.   Van  Buren  s  Speech  on  the  elective  francliise,  in  the  New- 
York  Convention,  ld21. 


90 

over  the  legislation  of  the  State,  as,  consistently  with 
the  good  of  the  whole,  can  to  mere  numbers  be  safely 
entrusted.  The  Senate,  in  order  that  it  may  prove 
an  efficient  check  upon  the  House,  when  checks 
are  most  needed,  is  constituted  upon  very  different 
principles.  Each  town,  whatever  may  be  its  popu- 
lation, is  entitled  to  elect  one  Senator  and  no  more. 
Thus,  while  the  city  of  Providence,  with  her  25,000 
inhabitants,  will,  in  the  House,  wield  one-sixth  of  the 
whole  legislative  power  of  the  State,  she  will,  in  the 
Senate,  be  entitled  to  exert  no  more  power  than  the 
town  of  Jamestown,  with  less  than  four  hundred 
inhabitants.  A  Senate,  thus  organised,  may  by  theo- 
retical politicians,  be  esteemed  a  monstrous  anomaly. 
Government,  however,  it  should  be  recollected,  is 
a  practical  matter.  It  cannot  be  fashioned  in  exact 
accordance  with  abstract  theories.  It  is  meant  to 
operate  upon  actual  existences — upon  man  as  he  is — 
upon  positive  and  mixed  interests — upon  the  various 
and  perchance  conflicting  passions  and  aims  of  hu- 
man society.  Were  the  Senators  and  Representa- 
tives, who  compose  the  Legislature  of  Rhode-Is- 
land, elected  upon  the  same  basis  of  population,  the 
legislative  department  would  be  without  check  or 
balance.*  The  government,  however  popular  might 
be  its  form,  would,  in  effect,  be  a  despotism.  The 
whole  legislative  power  would  be  exercised  by  the 
representatives  of  mere  numbers.  What  check  would 
there  be  upon  factious  majorities  "  who  are  united 

*  "  The  only  effectual  safeguard  to  the  rights  of  the  minority,  must  be 
laid  in  such  a  basis  or  structure  of  tlie  government  itself,  as  may  afford 
to  a  certain  degree,  directly  or  indirectly,  a  defensive  authority  in  behalf 
of  a  minority  having  right  on  its  side." — Vide  Mr.  Madison's  Speech  in 
the  Virginia  Convention,  1829-30.     Debates,  pp.  537-38. 


31 

and  actuated  by  some  common  impulse  of  passion 
or  of  interest  adverse  to  the  rights  of  other  citizens, 
or  to  the  permanent  and  aggregate  interest  of  the 
whole?"*  We  have  reason,  my  fellow-citizens,  to 
be  grateful  that  our  Senate  is  just  such  a  Senate  as 
Rhode-Island  needs ;  just  such  a  Senate  as  will  be  com- 
petent to  restrain  precipitate  or  oppressive  legisla- 
tion, should  the  House  ever  be  swayed  from  its  duty, 
under  temporary  inflammations  of  the  popular  mind 
— ^just  such  a  Senate,  in  fine,  as  will  maintain  unim- 
paired the  equal  rights  of  every  section  of  the  State, 
and  prevent  any  one  interest  from  engrossing  a  dan- 
gerous portion  of  political  power.  The  people  of 
Rhode-Island  look  to  the  Senate,  with  entire  confi- 
dence that,  upon  all  occasions,  it  will  fearlessly  as- 
sert and  maintain  its  constitutional  rights.  In  the 
distribution  of  powers,  they  have  made  no  distinc- 
tion between  the  Senate  and  the  House.  These 
branches  are,  by  the  Constitution,  in  all  respects, 
co-equal.  It  is  as  competent  for  the  Senate  to  origi- 
nate a  bill  as  for  the  House — it  is  as  competent  for 
the  Senate  to  negative  a  bill  as  for  the  House.  Con- 
stituted as  one  branch  of  our  Legislature  is  upon 
the  basis  of  population ;  and  constituted  as  is  the 
other  upon  a  different  and  somewhat  arbitrary  prin- 
ciple, it  would  not  be  strange  if,  in  the  progress  of 
the  government,  the  constitutional  exercise  of  the 
power  of  the  Senate,  in  negativing  a  bill  passed  by 
the  House,  should  be  stigmatised  as  an  attempt,  on 
the  part  of  an  oligarchy,  to  defeat  the  legitimate 
operation  of  the  popular  will.     Let  no  such  clamor 

'Federalist,   No.   X.,    by  Mr.  Madison, 


32 

be  heeded.  The  issue  thns  sought  to  be  mada^ 
would  be  a  false  issue.  Whenever  the  Senate  may 
see  fit  to  check  the  power  of  the  House,  it  will,  in 
so  doing,  carry  out  the  will  of  the  people,  as  solemn- 
ly expressed  in  that  Constitution  which  they  haver 
just  ordained  and  established.  Never  let  it  be  said, 
that  the  House  is  the  representative  of  the  people, 
rather  than  the  Senate,  because  the  former  is  con- 
stituted upon  the  basis  of  population,  and  the  latter 
is  not.  The  Constitution  recognises  not  this  dan- 
gerous distinction,  and  the  people  ought  never,  for 
one  moment,  to  tolerate  it,  unless,  by  the  irregular 
action  of  public  sentiment,  they  are  resolved  to  neu- 
tralize the  most  valuable  conservative  element  in  their 
whole  system  of  government. 

The  increased  stability  given  by  the  new  Consti- 
tution to  the  judicial  department  of  our  government,* 
deserves  a  more  extended  commentary  than  would 
be  suited  to  the  genius  of  the  present  occasion.  Un- 
der the  Charter,  the  Judges  of  all  the  courts  were 
annually  elected  by  the  Legislature,  and  the  com- 

*  "  The  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  shall  be  elected  by  the  two 
Houses  in  grand  committee.  Each  Judge  shall  hold  his  office  until  his 
place  be  declared  vacant  by  a  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly  to 
that  effect ;  which  resolution  shall  be  voted  for  by  a  majority  of  all  the 
members  elected  to  the  House  in  which  it  may  originate,  and  be  concur- 
red in  by  the  same  majority  of  the  other  House.  Such  resolution  shall 
not  be  entertained  at  any  other  than  the  annual  session  for  the  election 
of  public  officers  :  and  in  default  of  the  passage  thereof  at  said  session, 
the  Judge  shall  hold  his  place  as  herein  provided.  But  a  Judge  of  any 
court  shall  be  removed  from  office,  if,  upon  impeachment,  he  shall  be 
found  guilty  of  any  official  misdemeanor. 

"  The  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  shall  receive  a  compensation  for 
their  services,  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  continuance  in 
office." — Vide  Constitution. 


33 

pensation  for  their  services  might,  at  any  time, 
be  diminished  by  the  Legislature.  No  system,  if 
system  it  deserves  to  be  called,  could,  in  theory,  be 
worse  than  this.  While,  however,  the  poUtical 
power  of  the  State  was  Hmited  to  freeholders,  the 
evils  of  so  pernicious  a  tenure  of  the  judicial  office 
were  seldom,  to  any  serious  extent,  experienced.  A 
sound  pubUc  opinion,  especially  of  late  years,  has  se- 
cured the  State  from  the  evils  incident  to  a  constitu- 
tion of  the  judicial  department  of  the  government 
so  utterly  hostile  to  all  just  principles  of  popular 
freedom.  The  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  of 
late,  have  been  exempted  from  the  fate  which,  at 
every  change  of  parties,  inevitably  befalls  all  other 
officers  who  owe  their  places  to  an  annual  legis- 
lative appointment.  The  salutary  effects  of  this 
practically  stable  tenure  of  office  have  been  seen  in 
the  elevated  character  which  our  Supreme  Court 
has  acquired,  and  in  the  increased  confidence  which 
is  felt  by  the  people  in  the  wisdom  of  its  decisions, 
and  the  rectitude  of  its  administration.  The  framers 
of  the  new  Constitution,  when  they  made  provision 
for  a  wide  extension  of  the  elective  franchise,  would 
have  been  false  to  their  high  trust,  had  they  not 
armed  the  Judiciary  with  some  corresponding  power 
to  protect  individuals,  and  especially  minorities, 
against  encroachments  from  the  Legislature  ;  and, 
likewise,  to  secure  to  every  man,  whether  humble  or 
elevated,  whether  enjoying  the  favor  of  the  people, 
or,  for  any  cause,  exposed  to  their  displeasure, 
the  full  and  undisturbed  possession  of  his  constitu- 
tional rights.     In  the  Constitution,  which  you,  my 


fellow -citizens,  have  adopted,  you  have  declared  that 
certain  essential  rights  and  principles  shall  be  estab- 
lished, maintained,  and  preserved,  and  shall  be  of 
paramount  obligation  in  all  legislative,  judicial  and 
executive  proceedings.  Without  a  Judiciary  essen- 
tially independent,  of  what  avail  for  the  security  of 
popular  freedom  would  be  this  grave  declaration  of 
constitutional  rights  and  principles?  Why  subject 
the  executive  power  and  the  legislative  power  to 
restrictions,  if  the  Judiciary  be  left  powerless  to  en- 
force them  ?  Why  solemnly  reserve  to  yourselves 
the  rights  of  freemen,  if,  either  through  the  timidity 
or  the  corruption  of  your  courts,  those  rights  can- 
not, whenever  they  are  invaded,  be  intrepidly  and 
effectually  protected  ?  In  truth,  my  fellow-citizens, 
without  a  Judiciary  which  feels  itself  to  be  independ- 
ent of  the  legislative  power,  no  Constitution  is 
worth  the  parchment  upon  which  it  is  engrossed. 
Without  such  a  Judiciary,  there  can  be  no  freedom 
under  a  popular  government.  Without  such  a  Ju- 
diciary, civiUzation,  in  its  higher  forms,  can  make 
no  advance.  Beware,  then.  Men  of  Rhode-Island, 
of  that  political  man  or  of  that  political  party,  who 
may  hereafter  seek  to  inflame  you  with  a  jealousy 
of  that  department  in  your  government,  which, 
from  the  very  nature  of  its  functions,  is  least  danger- 
ous— and  which,  so  long  as  the  administration  of 
justice  is  the  chief  end  of  government,  you  are  most 
interested  to  cherish  and  to  defend.  In  a  monarchy, 
the  king  who  is  impatient  of  restraint  upon  his  will, 
tolerates  no  Bench  competent  to  shield  the  subject 
against  the  power  of  the  throne.     In  republics  like 


36 

our  own,  the  case  is  essentially  the  same.  No 
strangers  to  the  impulses  which  animate  royal  bo- 
soms, are  the  majority,  which  seeks  to  oppress  the 
minority,  and  the  demagogue,  who  hates  every  in- 
stitution in  the  State  which  he  cannot  make  tribu- 
tary to  his  aims.*  When  have  not  factious  majori- 
ties and  profligate  demagogues  sought  to  persuade 
the  people  that  an  independent  Judiciary  is  their 
master,  and  not  their  shield  ?  When  have  they  not 
affected  to  believe  that  learned  and  upright  Judges, 
who  dispense  no  patronage  and  exercise  no  politi- 
cal power — who  are  endowed  with  no  spontaneous 
energy  to  arrest  the  operations  of  the  executive 
or  of  the  legislature,  and  whom  it  is  never  difficult 
to  remove  for  malfeasance  in  office,  are  intrenched 
in  some  strong  hold,  which  the  people  should  watch 
with  a  jealous  eye  ?  Easily  indeed  must  that  peo- 
ple be  duped,  who  suffer  such  morbid  apprehen- 
sions to  trouble  their  peace.  Need  I  tell  you,  fellow- 
citizens,  that  the  danger  all  lies  in  another  quarter — 
in  the  occasional  excesses  of  popular  peission — in 
the  artifices  of  the  demagogue,  who  makes  him- 
self hoarse  in  proclaiming  the  wisdom  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  in  declaring  his  marvellous  love  for  the 
people — in  the  tendencies  of  majorities  to  oppress 
minorities — in  the  desires  of  the  vicious  and  idle  to 
make  spoil  of  the  accumulations,  whether  ample 
or  limited,  of  industry,  honesty  and  enterprise. 
These  are  among  the  dangers  most  formidable  to 
constitutional  rights  and  popular  freedom,  and  these 
are  the  dangers  which  render  a  learned  and  uncor- 

"  Appendix,  Note  G. 


36 

rupt  Judiciary  an  essential  component  part  of  every 
free  government. 

From  this  brief  and  necessarily  imperfect  com- 
mentary upon  the  practical  effect  of  some  of  the 
leading  provisions  of  the  new  Constitution,  the  ar- 
ticle relating  to  amendments  is  too  important  to  be 
excluded.  The  people  of  Rhode-Island,  having  de- 
termined to  establish  a  Constitution  which,  as  far  as 
practicable,  should  perpetuate  the  institutions  trans- 
mitted to  them  by  their  fathers,  have  wisely  guarded 
that  Constitution  against  the  dangers  of  precipitate 
and  disastrous  innovation.  They  have  placed  no 
insurmountable  obstructions  in  the  way  ot  such  re- 
forms as  experience  may  indicate  to  be  necessary. 
They  have,  however,  rendered  it  somewhat  difficult 
for  any  faction,  however  cunning  or  however  turbu- 
lent, to  break  down  any  of  the  essential  conserva- 
tive provisions  of  the  Constitution.  The  danger  of 
all  precipitate  action,  on  the  part  of  the  Legislature, 
is  excluded,  and  no  organic  change  can  be  consum- 
mated, without  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  three 
fifths  of  the  people,  voting  thereon  in  their  primary  as- 
semblies— thus  ensuring  the  consent  of  an  actual  ma- 
jority of  the  whole  people.*     These  wise  and  saJu- 

*  The  article  on  amendments  is  eis  follows  : — "  The  General  Assembly 
may  propose  amendments  to  this  constitution  by  the  votes  of  a  majority 
of  all  the  members  elected  to  each  House.  Such  propositions  for  amend- 
ment shall  be  published  in  the  newspapers,  and  printed  copies  of  them 
shall  be  sent  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  with  the  names  of  all  the  mem- 
bers who  shall  have  voted  thereon,  with  the  yeas  and  nays,  to  all  the 
town  and  city  clerks  in  the  State.  The  said  propositions  shall  be,  by 
said  clerks,  inserted  in  the  warrants  or  notices  by  them  issued,  for  warn- 
ing the  next  annual  town  and  ward  meetings  in  April ;  and  the  clerks 
shall  read  said  propositions  to  the  electors  when  thus  assembled,  with 
the  names  of  all  the  Representatives  and  Senators  who  shall  have  voted 


37 

tary  provisions  will  protect  our  State  against  fierce 
political  controversies  touching  the  very  foundations 
of  the  government  under  which  we  hve.  Under 
free  institutions,  the  people  must  be  expected  to  dif- 
fer about  men  and  measures  of  policy ;  but  the  whole 
social  order  is  in  danger,  the  securities  of  life,  lib- 
erty and  property  are  in  danger,  whenever  it  be- 
comes the  fashion  of  the  day  to  project  changes  in 
the  fundamental  law,  and  to  effect  those  changes,  by 
inflammatory  appeals  to  the  passions  and  interests 
of  political  parties. 

Men  or  Rhode-Island — 1  should  be  heedless  of 
the  sympathies  of  the  hour,  and  of  the  pleasant  stir 
which  animates  the  whole  population  now  assembled 
in  this  ancient  town,  did  I,  in  behalf  of  all  the  men, 
women  and  children  of  Rhode-Island,  neglect  to 
thank  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  for  preserving, 
essentially  untouched,  the  venerable  ordinance  and 
custom  of  our  fathers,  relative  to  the  time  and  place 
of  holding  the  General  Election.  By  the  old  Charter 
was  it  established  and  ordained,  that  "yearly,  once 
in  the  year  forever  hereafter,  namely,  on  every  first 
Wednesday  in  the  month  of  May,  a  General  Assem- 
bly should  be  held  at  Newport,  then  and  there  to  con- 
sult, advise,  determine  in  and  about  the  affairs  and 
business  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the  En- 

thereon,  with  the  yeas  and  nays,  before  the  election  of  Senators  and 
Representatives  shall  be  had.  If  a  majority  of  all  the  members  elected 
to  each  House,  at  said  annual  meeting,  shall  approve  any  proposition 
thus  made,  the  same  shall  be  published  and  submitted  to  the  electors  in 
the  mode  provided  in  the  act  of  approval ;  and  if  then  approved  by  three 
fifths  of  the  electors  of  the  State  present,  and  voting  thereon  in  town 
and  ward  meetings,  it  shall  become  a  part  of  the  constitution  of  the 
State." 


38 

glish  Colony  of  Rhode-Island  and  Providence  Plan- 
tations." Year  after  year,  has  this  ancient  custom 
and  ordinance  been  observed  by  the  good  people  of 
Rhode-Island.  Year  after  year,  have  young  and 
old,  men  and  women,  looked  forward  with  pleasure 
to  this  festival  season,  as  an  occasion  for  renew- 
ing most  grateful  associations  with  the  mighty  and 
solemn  past ;  and  likewise  for  infusing  ah  element 
of  fresh  and  innocent  joy  into  the  cares  and  occu- 
pations of  common  life.  Year  after  year,  have  mul- 
titudes come  hither,  from  island  and  from  main,  to 
witness  the  time-honored  ceremonies  of  a  Rhode- 
Island  General  Election ;  to  behold  the  emerald 
isle  arrayed,  at  this  season  of  vernal  loveliness,  in 
her  most  beautiful  garments ;  to  repose  amid  her 
haunts  of  gentle  beauty,  or  to  hush  their  spirits  into 
awe  amid  the  sublimities  of  her  ocean  scenes.  Un- 
affected by  a  rage  for  capricious  innovation,  and 
alive  to  the  truth,  that  the  moral  power  of  any  gov- 
ernment depends,  essentially,  upon  those  sentiments 
of  reverence  and  affection  which  are  fastened  in  the 
general  heart,  the  framers  of  our  Constitution  left 
the  provisions  of  the  Charter,  in  this  matter,  essen- 
tially unchanged.  Much  do  I  regret  that  it  seemed 
necessary  to  change  them  at  all.  Much  do  I  regret 
that  the  generous  sympathies  of  this  people,  which, 
for  so  many  generations,  have  flowed  forth  sponta- 
neously on  the  first  Wednesday  in  May,  must,  here- 
after, be  awakened  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  May. 
This,  however,  will  ultimately  prove  no  serious  detri- 
ment to  the  enjoyment  of  the  occasion.  In  an  age, 
too,  so  eminently  practical  as  the  present,  it  is  quite 


39 

too  much  to  expect  that  the  positive  utihties  of  so- 
ciety should  be  postponed  for  the  indulgence  of 
those  higher  sympathies  and  tastes  which  are,  in 
some  sort,  the  grace  and  the  ornament  of  our  com- 
mon nature.  Grateful  ought  we  to  be  that  the  Gen- 
eral Election  is  still  to  be  held  here — and  that  the 
Election  Day,  though  changed  from  what  it  was,  still 
comes  in  the  first  week  of  this  beautiful  and  merry 
month  of  May. 

Fellow-citizens  :  The  purposes  for  which  we  are 
assembled  seem  to  require  an  unambiguous  and  fear- 
less statement,  though  not  with  legal  precision,  and 
in  consecutive  order,  of  some  of  the  mighty  princi- 
ples which  we  have  perilled  so  much  to  maintain, 
and  which,  with  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God  upon 
our  struggles,  we  have  at  last  established. 

Strange  as  it  may  appear,  the  real  merits  of  The 
Rhode-Island  Question  are  imperfectly  under- 
stood abroad.  Many  have,  by  the  grossest  and  most 
systematic  misrepresentations,  been  betrayed  into 
the  belief,  that  our  controversy  was  a  controversy 
between  adverse  political  parties,  for  political  power, 
and  that  our  triumph,  therefore,  can  claim  no  higher 
distinction  than  what  belongs  to  a  mere  partisan  tri- 
umph. You  all  know,  my  fellow-citizens,  that  for 
such  a  belief  there  is  no  foundation.  You  all  know, 
that,  in  this  great  battle  for  constitutional  freedom, 
no  rival  partisan  banners  were  unfurled  to  the  breeze ; 
— and  you  all  feci,  now  that  the  battle  is  over,  not 
that  either  this  party  or  that  has  lost  or  won,  but 
that  the  State  which  you  love  and  honor  has  been 
rescued  from  the  evils  of  revolutionary    anarchy. 


m 

This  is  the  secret  of  your  deep  and  thoughtful  joy — 
this  is  the  crowning  glory  of  your  moral  triumph ! 

Multitudes  have,  likewise,  been  betrayed  into  the 
belief  that  the  question  of  Free  Suffrage  was  mixed 
with  the  great  issues  which  the  people  of  Rhode- 
Island  have  recently  decided.  This  misrepresenta- 
tion, which  prevails  somewhat  extensively  abroad, 
has  more  effectually,  than  any  other  cause,  opened 
for  the  revolutionary  party  "  the  source  of  sympa- 
thetic tears."  It  should,  therefore,  be  known  that 
the  freeholders  of  Rhode- Island  had  agreed  to  a  sys- 
tem of  almost  unrestricted  Suffrage,  before  any  at- 
tempt was  made  to  overthrow,  by  force,  the  existing 
government.  Thus,  was  forever  withdrawn  from 
the  catalogue  of  popular  grievances  even  this  poor 
apology  for  Revolution ! 

We  have  throughout  contended  for  those  princi- 
ples of  constitutional  reform  which  are  recognised 
by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  which 
were  recognised  by  our  sister  States,  in  forming  their 
Constitutions,  as  essential  to  constitutional  freedom. 
We  have  never  denied  any  of  the  fundamental  doc- 
trines of  popular  right  set  forth  in  the  Declaration  of 
American  Independence,  and  in  the  Constitutions  of 
the  several  States ;  but  we  have  repeatedly  and  une- 
quivocally affirmed  them.  Never  have  we  denied  the 
right  of  the  people  to  make  and  alter  their  constitu- 
tions of  government — a  right  which  "  constitutes  the 
basis  of  our  political  systems."  We  have,  however, 
contended  that,  where  the  people  have  adopted  a 
Constitution  which  contains  a  provision  for  its  own 
amendment,    such   Constitution   must  be   amend- 


41 

ed  or  changed  according  to  the  mode  estabhshed  by 
itself.  We  have,  moreover,  maintained  that  where 
a  Constitution  provides  no  mode  oi'  amending  itself, 
the  people  must  effect  the  desired  reform,  through 
the  agency  of  the  Legislature,  the  representatives 
and  the  agents  of  the  people.  No  other  mode  of 
changing  constitutions  of  government  can  we 
admit  to  be  "  an  exphcit  and  authentic  act  of  the 
whole  people."  No  other  mode  of  changing  them 
can  be  rescued  from  the  reproach  of  being  revolu- 
tionary in  its  character — transcending,  consequently, 
all  law ;  and  subjecting  to  the  worst  perils  all  the  in- 
terests of  a  State,  and  all  the  safeguards  of  regulated 
liberty.  The  doctrine  that  the  people,  after  having 
once  embodied  their  will  in  a  Constitution,  or  in  a 
fundamental  law,  may  alter  or  abolish  such  Con- 
stitution, or  such  fundamental  law,  "without  law 
and  against  law,"  would,  in  its  practical  application, 
be  fatal  to  popular  liberty.  It  would  leave  the  peo- 
ple without  adequate  means  of  resisting  a  factious 
majority,  for  even  majorities  may  be  factious,  which 
might  meditate  the  overthrow  of  the  existing  gov- 
ernment. Nay  more, — it  would  leave  them  to  the 
tender  mercies  of  a  factious  minority,  who  might 
vote  themselves  to  be  the  people^  and  who,  with  arms 
in  their  hands,  might  easily  control  the  legitimate 
expressions  of  the  general  will,  and  substitute  for  the 
voice  of  the  law  the  voice  of  the  moh.  Once  aban- 
don the  forms  of  law  in  this  grave  matter  of  making 
and  altering  constitutions  of  government,  and  you 
abandon  all  the  principles  of  true  constitutional  re- 
form. You  precipitate  yourselves  into  the  vortex  of 
6 


412 

revolution,  to  iiiEiintain  a  doubtful  struggle  with  the 
exasperated  passions,  and  with  the  distempered  en- 
ergy of  revolution. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  popular  movement 
in  this  State,  which  ultimately  terminated  in  a  resort 
to  force,  the  question  of  suffrage  was  drawn  largely 
into  discussion.  We  maintained  then,  and  we  main- 
tain now,  that  the  right  of  suffrage  is  a  political  and 
not  a  natural  right ;  and  that  this  important  political 
right  is  to  be  established  and  regulated  by  the  per- 
sons composing  the  body  politic,  and  possessing  the 
right  to  exercise  political  power,  and  according  to 
their  judgment  of  what  the  general  welfare  may  de- 
mand. It  will  be  seen,  that,  under  the  Charters  of 
1644  and  1663,  the  people  of  this  State  agreed  to 
form  one  body  politic.  Neither  of  these  Charters 
regulated  the  right  of  suffrage,  or  the  admission  of 
persons  into  the  body  politic.  They  left  all  power 
over  this  matter  to  be  exercised  by  the  representa- 
tives of  the  people.  More  than  a  hundred  years 
ago,  the  people  of  this  State,  by  their  representa- 
tives, in  the  General  Assembly,  provided  that  none 
but  freeholders  should  be  entitled  to  the  right  of  suf- 
frage, or  should  be  admitted  members  of  the  body 
politic,  with  the  right  to  exercise  political  power. 
Those  who  admit  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  are 
bound  to  admit  the  right  of  the  people  of  this  State 
so  to  make  and  constitute  this  portion  of  their  fun- 
damental law.  We  have  contended,  and  we  con- 
tend still,  that  those  only  who  possessed  political 
power  according  to  the  provisions  of  this  fundamental 
law,  were,  in  a  constitutional  sense,  the  people  of 


43 

Rhode-Island ;  that  no  other  persons  had  a  right  to 
change  the  law,  in  this  respect,  or  to  exercise  those 
constitutional  powers  which  belong  to  the  people. 
It  was  the  people,  in  this  sense,  who,  through  their 
delegation  in  Congress,  declared  the  independence 
of  this  State,  in  1776.  It  was  the  people,  in  this 
sense,  who  in  the  year  1790,  ratified,  through  their 
delegates  assembled  in  Convention,  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  Under  all  these  circumstan- 
ces, and  after  the  lapse  of  half  a  century,  it  was 
reserved  for  sage  politicians  in  1841,  to  discover 
that  Rhode-Island  had  not  a  republican  form  of  gov- 
ernment,* but  was  an  aristocracy  so  oppressive  as  to 
justify  a  Revolution  /f  A  Revolution  by  whom  ?  Had 
those  who  by  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  State  had 
no  right  to  the  exercise  of  political  power,  a  right 
to  destroy  the  body  politic^  that  they  might  erect 
another  upon  its  ruins  ?  Whence  did  they  derive 
this  right  ?  Not  certainly  from  the  law.  The  so- 
cial compact  makes  no  provision  for  such  a  right, 
and  cannot  recognise  such  a  right.  The  law  de- 
nies to  all  those  who  are  not  the  legal  people,  the 

*  "Tlie  essential  criteria  of  a  jrovernnicnt  purely  republican,"  says  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  "  are  that  the  principal  organs  of  the  executive  and  legis- 
lative departments  shall  be  elected  by  the  people,  and  hold  their  offices, 
by  a  responsible  and  temporary  or  defeasible  tenure."  In  Rhode-Island, 
under  the  Charter  Government,  not  only  were  the  Governor  and  both 
branches  of  the  Legislature  elected  by  the  people,  but  the  members  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  were  elected  once  in  every  six  months .' 

f'That  is  revolution,"  says  Daniel  Webster,  "which  overturns  or  controls, 
or  successfully  resists  the  existing  public  authority  ;  that  which  arrests 
the  exercise  of  the  supreme  power;  that  which  introduces  a  new  para- 
mount AUTHORITY  into  the  rule  of  the  State.  '  It  will  hardly  be  denied, 
that  this  was  the  precise  object  of  those  men  who  took  up  arms  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  the  so  called  People's  Constitution. 


right  to  exercise  any  political  power  in  the  State.  It 
must,  therefore,  a  fortiori,  deny  their  right  to  revolu- 
tionize the  body  pohtic.  Have  the  members  of  the 
body  politic  the  right  to  destroy  the  body  politic  ? 
From  whence  do  they  derive  it  ?  Not  certainly  from 
the  law — not  from  the  social  compact,  for  this  is 
sacredly  obligatory  upon  all,  until  changed,  in  some 
mode  which  can  be  recognised  as  the  "  authentic  act 
of  the  whole  people." 

Upon  what  is  the  right  of  revolution  founded? 
Can  aught  save  "  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usur- 
pations," justify  a  resort  to  revolution  ?  A  majori- 
ty of  those  who  possess  the  political  power  may  op- 
press the  minority,  but  it  is  preposterous  to  claim 
for  the  majority  in  a  free  State,  the  right  of  revo- 
lution. Whatever  grievances  they  may  chance  to 
suffer,  can  be  redressed  at  the  ballot-box,  and  hence 
the  ground  of  necessity^  upon  which  alone  such  a 
revolution,  as  is  here  contemplated,  can  be  justified, 
is  excluded.  In  the  late  revolutionary  movement 
which  convulsed  this  State,  were  engaged  men  who, 
under  the  laws  of  the  State,  had  no  right  to  the  ex- 
ercise of  political  power.  They  endeavored  to 
compel  the  body  politic  to  receive  them  as  members. 
Among  these  men  were  persons  born  in  this  State, 
and  persons  who  came  hither  from  abroad.  What 
rights  had  the  latter,  beyond  those  which  belong 
to  an  invader  ?  In  this  same  revolutionary  move- 
ment were,  likewise,  engaged  persons  who  were 
members  of  the  body  politic,  and  who  sought  to 
make  themselves  a  majority  of  the  people,  accord- 
ing to  the  widest  signification  of  that  term,   by  an 


45 

alliance  with  those  who  had  no  legal  right  to  politi- 
cal power.  By  this  course,  they  could  lawfully  gain 
no  political  rights.  As  a  minority  of  the  people, 
what  right  had  they  to  condemn  the  lawful  action  of 
the  majority,  because  they  might  be  unwilling  to 
change  their  fundamental  law  ?  By  seeking  the  al- 
liance, and  for  such  a  purpose,  of  strangers  and  so- 
journers, they  did  violence  to  the  laws  and  constitu- 
tion of  the  State,  and  involved  themselves  in  the 
guilt  of  rebellion  and  treason. 

We  have  contended,  and  we  still  contend,  that 
the  People's  Constitution  had  no  validity,  even  ad- 
mitting that  it  received  the  votes  of  14,000  persons. 
Those  who  had  no  right  to  vote,  could  not  gain  a 
legal  right  by  their  own  unlawful  act.  The  votes, 
therefore,  of  all  such  persons,  should  be  deducted 
from  the  aggregate  of  14,000.  Those  who  had  a 
right  to  vote,  had  no  right  to  vote  but  in  conformity 
to  the  laws.  Their  action,  being  without  law,  could 
by  no  law  be  authenticated  and  made  valid.  But 
they  acted  against  law,  as  well  as  without  law,  and 
conspired  to  overthrow  the  government.  Such  a 
course  of  illegal  proceeding  resulted,  as  was  fore- 
seen, in  overt  acts  of  treason  and  civil  war. — 
That  we  have  been  saved  from  tlie  terrific  calami- 
ties incident  to  a  state  of  anarchy,  demands  ascrip- 
tions of  devout  praise  to  Him  who  ruleth  the  spirit 
of  man,  and  stilleth  the  tumult  of  the  people. 

I  have  thus  attempted  to  set  forth  some  of  tlie 
most  essential  principles  involved  in  the  decision  of 
THE  Rhode-Island  Question.  They  lie,  as  we  be- 
lieve, at  the  very  foundation  of  all  our  systems  of 


popular  government.  Unless  they  can  be  sustained, 
and  triumphantly  sustained  throughout  these  States, 
the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  the  American  people 
will  be  summoned  to  such  a  conflict  between  Revo- 
lution and  Law,  as  will  make  the  whole  land  turn 
pale  !  These  principles  are  worth  voting  for  ;  they 
are  worth  fighting  for ;  if  need  be,  they  are  worth 
dying  for !  How  disastrous  to  this  State  would  have 
been  our  failure  to  vindicate  them !  Under  the  rule 
of  a  revolutionary  government,  what  interest  or  in- 
stitution would  have  been  safe  from  aggression  ? 
What  confidence  would  have  been  felt,  at  home  or 
abroad,  in  the  stability  of  a  government  established 
without  law  and  against  law  ?  What  could  have 
rescued  the  State  from  the  dominion  of  successive 
factions?  Under  the  unmitigated  popular  despo- 
tism which  was  sought  to  be  fastened  upon  us,  how 
inevitable  would  have  been  the  decline  of  all  public 
spirit,  and  of  all  manly  independence  in  individual 
character  !  If,  fellow -citizens,  the  men  who  sought, 
by  force  of  arms,  to  overthrow  the  legal  govern- 
ment of  Rhode-island,  had  consummated  their  pur- 
pose, we  should  have  been  not  only  oppressed,  but 
dishonored.  In  what  bitterness  of  spirit  should  we 
have  deplored  the  baleful  triumph  of  popular  licen- 
tiousness and  misrule  ?  Where,  then,  would  have 
been  "  that  proud  submission,  that  dignified  obedi- 
ence," which  a  free  citizen  delights  to  yield  to  a 
government  founded  upon  law,  and  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  rational  liberty  ?  Who  of  us,  in  fine, 
would  not  then  have  felt  that  Rhode-Island  had  ceas- 
ed to  be  his  home — that  his  affections  were  fastened 


47 

to  her  only  by  those  glorious  recollections  which 
give  an  undying  interest  to  the  past  ? 

Men  of  Rhode-Island — Much  do  we  all  love 
this  pleasant  land  where  our  fathers  sought  and 
found  "freedom  to  worship  God" — and  where, 
through  all  the  stages  of  her  history,  has  been  ex- 
hibited the  most  perfect  pattern  of  an  unmixed  and 
orderly  democracy,  which  the  world  hath  yet  seen. 
How  much  more  should  we  love  her,  for  the  great 
tribulations  through  which  she  has,  at  last,  reached 
the  vantage  ground  of  peace  and  liberty  and  honor  I 
Not  a  year  since,  and  our  little  State  was  convulsed 
to  its  centre.  How  dark  and  wild  was  the  tumult 
of  revolutionary  passions !  How  many  thoughtful 
spirits  brooded  in  sadness  over  the  woes  which 
threatened  to  fall  upon  us !  In  how  many  noble 
bosoms  was  formed  the  stern  resolve  to  maintain,  at 
whatever  cost  of  treasure  and  of  blood,  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  laws  !  When,  before  this  uproar  of  all 
our  social  elements,  have  any  portion  of  our  fellow- 
citizens  been  seduced  from  their  allegiance  to  the 
government  which  protected  them  ?  When,  before 
this,  my  fellow-citizens,  in  the  whole  history  of  civil 
society,  have  demagogues  so  inflamed  the  passions 
of  the  people,  that  a  reproach  upon  landholders  has 
been  welcomed  as  a  sign  wherewith  to  conquer  ? 
Not  for  a  single  moment,  could  the  men  of  Rhode- 
Island  brook  the  thought  of  surrendering  this  inher- 
itance of  freedom,  derived  from  heroic  sires,  to  be 
trampled  in  the  dust  by  lawless  feet !  Not  for  a 
single  moment,  could  they  pause  in  their  career,  till 
the  battle  for  Liberty  and  Law  was  won  !    How  de- 


48 

termined  was  the  spirit  of  patriotic  resistance,  even 
among  the  peaceful  dwellers  upon  this  island !  How 
fixed  their  purpose,  that  the  soil  which  embosoms 
all  that  was  mortal  of  the  patriot  Ellery  and  the  gal- 
lant Perry,*  should  never  be  pressed  by  a  rebel  foot! 
that  these  shores,  which  once  listened  to  the  philo- 
sophic wisdom  of  Berkeley,  and  woke  to  deep  and 
eloquent  rapture,  the  soul  of  Channing,t  should  nev- 
er give  back  the  shouts  of  a  rebel  host !  Never  can 
the  scenes  of  the  last  year  fade  from  our  recollec- 
tions !  Never  can  we  forget  those  memorable  days 
which  stirred,  to  their  very  depths,  the  spirits  of  this 
whole  people — when  the  men  of  Rhode-Island,  for- 
saking all  common  occupations,  and  banishing  all 
common  cares,  rushed  to  the  support  of  their  gov- 
ernment and  the  defence  of  their  firesides. 

"  High  hung  the  rusting  scythe  awhile, 

And  ceased  the  spindle's  roar  ; 
The  boat  rocked  idly  by  the  isle. 

And  on  the  ocean  shore  ; 
The  belted  burgher  paced  his  street, 

The  seaman  wheeled  his  gun  ; 
Steel  gleamed  along  the  ruler's  seat, 

And  study's  task  was  done  !" 

"  Old  Narragansett  rang  with  arms, 

And  rang  the  silver  bay; 
And  that  sweet  shore  whose  girdled  charms 

Were  Philip's  ancient  sway  ; 
And  our  own  island's  halcyon  scene 

The  black  artillery  sent ; 
And  answered  from  the  home  of  Greene, 

The  men  of  dauntless  Kent  !"| 

Thus,  in  strains  worthy  of  his  theme,  sung  one  of 
our  own  poets.     These  spirit-stirring  scenes  have 

*  Appendix,  Note  H.       t  Appendix,  Note  I.        J  Appendix,  Note  J. 


49 

passed  away.  The  tempest,  which  blackened  our 
whole  horizon,  has  left  it  to  be  spanned  by  the  bow 
of  promise,  and  to  reflect  the  glories  of  an  untroubled 
sky.  Let  us  not  forget,  however,  in  this  season  of 
our  joy,  the  solemn  lessons  taught  us  in  the  day  of 
our  calamity.  How  impressively  do  the  events  of  the 
last  year  admonish  us  of  the  great  danger  to  be  ap- 
prehended from  visionary  theories,  which,  though 
ostensibly  addressed  to  the  understandings  of  the 
people,  take  the  strongest  hold  of  their  passions,  and 
which  ultimately  lead  the  people  to  the  grossest 
misconceptions  of  their  constitutional  rights  and 
social  duties.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  no  inconsid- 
erable portion  of  our  fellow-citizens  were  deluded  by 
wretched  sophistries  into  a  conviction  that,  in  all 
their  efforts  to  establish  the  People's  Constitution, 
they  were  sustained  by  the  example  of  our  revolu- 
tionary fathers,  and  by  the  eternal  principles  of 
natural  justice.  The  delusion  did  not  expend  itself 
upon  their  understandings.  From  the  lips  and  the 
pens  of  false  teachers,  multitudes  learned  the  capti- 
vating texts  of  sedition — their  passions  supplied  the 
inferences.  And  yet  more — in  order  to  impart  addi- 
tional energy  and  ardor  to  the  popular  passions, 
demagogues,  educated  and  uneducated,  were  inces- 
sant in  the  work  of  exasperating  them  by  appeals 
the  most  artful  and  fervid.  Thus  did  it  come  to 
pass,  that,  in  Rhode-Island,  where  no  man  hitherto 
had  dreamed  of  oppression,  or  meditated  resistance 
to  the  laws,  multitudes  were  persuaded  to  think 
themselves  oppressed,  and  to  rush  madly  for  redress 
upon  the  portentous  issues  of  a  Revolution.  The 
7 


60 

sad  experiences  of  the  last  year  should,  likewise, 
teach  us  not  to  confound  the  love  of  freedom,  which 
never  exists  without  producing  the  happiest  effects, 
with  that  morbid  ambition  for  uncontrolled  political 
power  which,  whether  raging  in  the  breasts  of  indi- 
viduals or  of  masses,  threatens,  especially  in  seasons 
of  excitement,  the  worst  evils  to  a  State.  The  for- 
mer, as  has  been  justly  remarked  by  a  philosophical 
historian,  will  produce  disturbances  only  when  real 
evils  are  felt ;  the  latter  frequently  produces  convul- 
sions, independent  of  any  real  cause  of  complaint ; 
or,  if  it  has  been  excited  by  such,  it  continues  after 
it  has  been  removed.  "  The  one  complains  of 
what  has  been  felt ;  the  other  anticipates  what  may 
be  gained ;  disturbances  arising  from  the  first,  sub- 
side, when  the  evils  from  which  they  spring  are  re- 
moved; troubles  originating  in  the  second,  mag- 
nify with  every  victory  which  is  achieved.  The 
experience  of  evil  is  the  cause  of  agitation  from  the 
first ;  the  love  of  power  the  source  of  convulsions 
from  the  last.  Reform  and  concession  are  the  rem- 
edies appropriate  to  the  former ;  steadiness  and  re- 
sistance the  means  of  extinguishing  the  flame  arising 
from  the  latter."* 

The  dangers,  fellow-citizens,  through  which  we 
have  passed,  should  also  impress  more  strongly  upon 
every  mind  the  conviction  that  those  are  the  worst 
enemies  of  the  people,  who,  under  captivating  names 
and  false  pretexts,  violate  the  essential  principles  of 
all  popular  freedom.  Without  Law,  and  without  a 
reverence  for  Law,  a  Democracy  cannot  exist ; — 

*  Vide  Alison's  History  of  Europe. 


51 

there  can  be  no  security  for  equal  rights ;  there  can 
be  no  protection  for  the  weak  against  the  strong ; 
there  can  be  nothing  to  save  the  few  from  the  ty- 
ranny of  the  many ;  nothing  to  shelter  from  the 
rapacious  and  the  idle,  the  accumulations  of  honest 
industry — nothing,  in  short,  to  arrest  the  tendencies 
of  society  towards  either  the  barbarism  of  savage 
life,  or  the  repose  of  sullen  despotism.  Law  and  a 
reverence  for  Law  are  bound  up  in  all  our  hopes  of 
the  future  triumphs  of  the  democratic  principle. 
The  friends  and  the  foes  of  the  existing  forms  of 
civil  government  in  Europe,  look,  with  intense  so- 
licitude, to  the  results  of  the  mighty  experiment  now 
making  in  this  country.  This  experiment,  perhaps 
the  grandest  which,  in  the  progress  of  society,  hath 
ever  been  witnessed,  will  fail,  if  it  be  destined  to 
fail,  from  a  perversion  of  the  true  notions  of  liberty  ; 
— from  the  relaxation,  among  the  people  and  in 
their  rulers,  of  those  conservative  principles,  without 
which,  in  the  absence  of  physical  force,  there  can 
be  neither  freedom  nor  civilization.  Be  it  our  duty, 
therefore.  Men  of  Rhode-Island,  to  discharge,  faith- 
fully, the  sacred  trust  confided  to  our  hands.  The 
lines  are  fallen  to  us  in  pleasant  places.  We  inhabit 
a  territory  which  is  unrivalled  for  salubrity — and 
which,  in  its  physical  characteristics,  supplies  the 
most  ample  facilities  for  a  progressive  advancement 
in  social  refinement.  Numerous  and  densely  peo- 
pled towns  concentrate  within  themselves  the  means 
of  high  intellectual  improvement — our  rivers,  ere 
they  finish  their  course,  furnish  the  motive  power 
for   extensive  manufactures — and  our  bav,  while  it 


52 

facilitates  the  operations  of  commerce,  embosoms 
islands  of  extraordinary  agricultural  capacity,  and 
which  recal  to  classic  memories  the  far-famed  beau- 
ty of  the  Grecian  Isles. 

Let  not  these  benefits  and  blessings  be  lost  upon 
us.  While  we  gird  ourselves  for  any  fresh  service 
in  the  cause  of  constitutional  freedom  to  which  we 
may  be  summoned,  let  us  constantly  aim  to  multiply 
for  ourselves,  and  to  spread  far  and  wide,  the  means 
of  increasing  physical  happiness ;  to  secure  to 
every  man,  by  the  strongest  tenure,  his  rights  under 
the  Constitution  and  the  laws  ;  and  to  place  within 
every  man's  reach  the  transcendant  blessings  of  edu- 
cation and  rehgion.  Above  aU,  let  us  beware  how, 
amid  the  conflicts,  and  in  pursuit  of  the  objects,  of 
party,  we  countenance  any  of  those  levelling  or  anti- 
social principles,  which  it  is  sad  to  think  are  propa- 
gated from  high  places  in  the  land.  Let  us  remem- 
ber that,  if  we  would  walk  abroad  in  the  light  of  an 
exalted  freedom,  we  must  cultivate  the  spirit  of  an 
exalted  freedom  ; — that  vain  will  be  our  hope  in 
God,  unless,  as  politicians  and  as  men,  we  anchor 
ourselves  in  the  immutable  and  all-prevaiUng  princi- 
ples of  His  Moral  Government. 


APPENDIX. 


[Note  A— Page  9.] 

In  this  language  there  is  no  exaggeration.  Bishop  Berkeley,  soon 
after  his  arrival  at  Newport,  in  the  year  1729,  spoke  of  Newport,  in  one 
of  his  letters  to  a  friend  in  Dublin,  as  then  containing  "  about  six  thou- 
sand souls,  and  as  the  most  thriving  place  in  all  America,  for  bigness."  In 
1774,  according  to  the  census,  taken  by  authority  of  the  government,  the 
population  was  9,200,  of  which  1,246  were  blacks.  The  number  of  per- 
sons, however,  actually  belonging  to  the  town,  at  that  time,  is  believed, 
and  not  without  reason,  to  have  been  nearly  or  quite  11,000.  This  belief 
is  founded  on  the  fact  that,  in  the  British  mode  of  taking  a  census,  as 
then  and  now  practised  in  the  United  Kingdom,  temporary  residents, 
strangers,  &c.,  were  excluded  from  the  enumeration,  whicii  was  confined 
to  permanent  settlers.  This  belief  is  also  corroborated  by  the  additional 
fact,  that  the  colonial  government  was  interested  in  bringing  the  popu- 
lation within  the  lowest  limits,  in  order  to  reduce  the  requisitions  in  men 
and  money,  which,  in  time  of  war,  were  proportioned  to  the  numbers 
returned.  Of  the  184  vessels  which  cleared  at  the  Newport  Custom 
House,  from  January  1,  1763,  to  January  1,  1764,  on  foreign  voyages, 
and  of  the  352  in  the  coasting  trade,  two  thirds,  if  not  three  quarters, 
belonged  to  Newport.  These,  with  the  fishing  vessels,  required  a  force 
of  2,200  seamen.  Her  merchants  were  princes.  One  of  them,  Mr. 
Aaron  Lopez,  of  the  Hebrew  persuasion,  owned,  at  one  time,  more  than 
thirty  sail  of  vessels,  of  different  descriptions.  The  commercial  pros- 
perity of  Newport  was  at  its  zenith,  in  1769,  or  shortly  before  that  period. 
The  manufactures  of  Newport  were,  at  the  same  period,  quite  exten- 
sive. Besides  numerous  distilleries,  there  were,  in  the  town,  sixteen 
manufactories  of  sperm-oil  and  candles ;  five  rope-walks  ;  four  sugar 
refineries,  &c.  The  manufacture  of  sperm-oil  was  introduced  into  New- 
port by  the  Colony  of  Jews  which  arrived  there,  between  the  years  1745 
and  1750.     These  Jews  were  all  emigrants  from  Portugal. 

The  venerable  Dr.  Waterhouse,  himself  a  native  of  Newport,  in  a 
newspaper  article  published  in  1824,  says:  "The  island  of  Rhode-Island, 
from  its  salubrity  and  surpassing  beauty,  before  the   Revolutionary  War 


64 

so  sadly  defaced  it,  was  the  chosen  resort  of  the  rich  and  philosophic 
from  nearly  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world.  In  no  spot  of  the  thirteen, 
or  rather  twelve  colonies,  was  there  concentrated  more  individual  opu- 
lence, learning  and  liberal  leisure."  The  Redwood  Library  is  still  a 
beautiful  monument  of  the  former  wealth,  learning  and  public  spirit  of 
Newport.  This  library  owes  its  origin  to  a  literary  and  philosophical  So- 
ciety established  in  Newport,  in  the  year  1730.  This  Society  was  com- 
posed of  the  most  eminent  men  of  Newport,  and  in  its  discussions, 
Berkeley,  the  intimate  friend  of  some  of  its  members,  was  accustomed  to 
participate. 

Among  the  former  inhabitants  of  Newport,  were  about  three  hundred 
of  the  children  of  Abraham,  embracing  some  of  her  most  enterprising 
and  opulent  merchants.  "Newport,"  says  Dr.  Waterhouse,  "was  the  only 
place  in  New-England,  where  the  Hebrew  language  was  publicly  read 
and  chanted  by  more  than  three  hundred  of  the  descendants  of  Abra- 
ham." Their  synagogue,  built  in  1762,  remains,  but  not  a  solitary  wor- 
shipper is  left  behind. 

In  the  vicissitudes  of  human  affairs,  Newport  has  declined  from  her 
ancient  wealth  and  splendor ;  but,  within  her  and  around  her,  are  left 
sources  of  enjoyment,  which  mock  the  power  of  time  and  of  change — 
the  living  spirit  of  beauty  which  pervades  her  hills  and  vales — the  eter- 
nal sublimities  which  dwell  around  her  shores  ! 


[Note  B— Page  18.] 

Dr.  John  Clarke  was  born  Oct.  8, 1609,  and,  as  is  believed,  in  Bedford- 
shire, England.  Before  he  came  to  New-England,  he  was  a  practising 
physician  in  London.  He  was  the  original  projector  of  the  settlement 
on  Rhode-Island,  in  1638,  and  was  subsequently  one  of  its  ablest  legis- 
lators. In  1644,  he  formed  a  church  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of 
the  Baptists,  and,  uniting  the  professions  of  a  clergyman  and  physician, 
he  continued  to  perform  the  duties  of  pastor  of  that  church,  till  1651, 
when  he  was  despatched,  with  Roger  Williams,  to  England,  to  procure 
the  abrogation  of  the  Charter  which  Mr.  Coddington  had  obtained,  and 
which  gave  him  the  control  of  the  island.  After  they  had  accom- 
plished this  object,  Roger  Williams  returned  to  Rhode-Island,  leaving' 
Mr.  Clarke  sole  agent  of  the  Colony  in  England.  He  was  present  at  the 
Restoration  of  the  Stuarts,  and  so  far  as  any  one,  this  side  of  the  Atlan- 
tic, was  instrumental  in  procuring  the  Charter  of  1663,  Clarke,  it 
would  seem,  must  have  been  the  man  to  whom  that  honor  is  fairly  due. 
He  was  a  learned  man,  and  if  he  did  not  himself  draught  that  Charter,  he 
probably  sought  and  obtained  the  best  legal  assistance  in  preparing  an 
instrument  which  was  to  pass  the  great  seal.  After  his  return  from 
England,  in  1663,  he  was  elected,  three  years  successively,  Deputy- 
Governor  of  the  Colony.     He  is  stated  to  have  been  the  first  regularly 


55 

educated  pliysician  who  ever  practised  in  Rhode-Island ;  and  all  the  rec- 
ords of  his  life  show  him  to  have  been  an  able,  pious  and  disinterested 
man.  He  maintained  his  pastoral  relation  to  the  church  which  he  found- 
ed, till  he  died,  April  20,  1676,  aged  66  years.  He  was  buried  on  his 
own  lot,  on  the  west  side  of  Tanner  street,  in  Newport. 


[Note  C— Page  18.] 

This  venerable  document  may  be  found  prefixed  to  every  dig^est  of  the 
statute  laws  of  Rhode-Island,  and  is  embodied  in  every  collection  of  the 
Constitutions  of  the  several  States.  It  empowered  the  people  of  Rhode- 
Island  to  choose  all  their  officers,  legislative,  executive  and  judicial,  and 
invested  in  them  or  in  their  delegates,  all  the  high  powers  of  legislation 
and  government.  So  democratic  was  the  Charter  deemed  to  be,  both  in 
its  letter  and  spirit,  that  doubts  were  entertained  in  England,  whether  the 
king  had  a  right  to  grant  it !  In  a  very  able  Report  on  the  subject  of 
an  Extension  of  Suffrage,  submitted  to  the  Legislature  of  this  State  in 
June,  1829,  b}-  the  late  Benjamin  Hazard,  Esq.,  the  merits  of  the  Char- 
ter are  made  the  theme  of  the  following  just  and  animated  encomium, 
which  will  meet  a  response  from  the  heart  of  every  true  Rhode-Island 
man  : — "  It  is  not  the  less  our  Constitution,  because  its  name  furnishes  a 
theme  for  cavillers.  The  people  have  always  held  it  as  their  Constitu- 
tion ;  and  have  more  than  once  manifested  their  satisfaction  with  it.  It 
was  framed  and  agreed  upon,  as  it  purports  to  have  been,  by  the  purcha- 
sers, proprietors  and  settlers  of  the  State ;  and  its  character,  as  their 
work,  was  not  at  all  changed  by  its  having  been  put  into  the  form  of  a 
charter.  At  that  time,  the  people,  being  colonists,  could  not  avoid  sub- 
mitting to  have  the  usual  reservations  expressive  of  the  royal  preroga- 
tive, engrafted  into  it ;  but,  independent  of  these  appendages,  it  wag 
wholly  the  work  of  the  people,  and  was  purely  republican.  The  whole 
power  of  self-government  was  in  their  own  hands.  No  Constitution, 
before  or  since  the  Revolution,  has  been  framed,  none  can  be  framed, 
more  free  and  popular.  Our  separation  from  the  mother  country  per- 
fected this  Constitution,  by  cancelling  the  conditions  and  reservations 
under  which  we  held  it,  and  leaving  the  work  of  tlie  people  entire.  Let 
.strangers,  if  they  please,  treat  this  instrument  with  levity,  and  hold  it  up 
as  a  reproach  to  the  State,  for  the  sage  reason  that  it  was  originally  a 
charter ;  but  let  us  continue  to  be  proud  of  it,  as  a  lasting  monument  of 
the  free,  manly  and  enlightened  spirit  of  our  fore-fathers,  who  could,  at 
so  early  a  day,  and  while  colonists,  frame,  adopt  and  obtain  the  confir- 
mation of  a  constitution  of  self-government  so  perfectly  republican  ;  and 
by  which  all  the  natural,  civil  and  political  rights  and  privileges  of  them- 
selves and  their  posterity  were  so  amply  and  comi)letely  asserted  and 
secured." 


66 

[Note  D.— Page  20.] 

The  Charter  granted,  in  1764,  by  the  General  Assembly  oJ  the  Colony 
of  Rhode-Island  to  Rhode-Island  College,  now  Brown  University,  al- 
though it  secures  to  the  Baptists  the  control  of  the  College,  recognises, 
repeatedly,  and  in  the  most  unequivocal  terms,  the  grand  principles  of 
religious  freedom,  for  which  Rhode-Island,  through  every  stage  in  her 
social  progress,  has  resolutely  contended.  This  Charter  not  only  forbids 
all  "religious  tests,"  but  it  guarantees  to  every  member  of  the  University 
"  full,  free,  absolute,  and  uninterrupted  liberty  of  conscience."  It  also 
enjoins  that  "  the  sectarian  differences  of  opinion  shall  not  make  any  part 
of  the  public  and  classical  instruction ;  although  all  religious  controver- 
sies may  be  studied  freely,  examined  and  explained  by  the  President,  Pro- 
fessors and  Tutors,  in  a  personal,  separate,  and  distinct  manner,  to  the 
youth  of  any  or  each  denomination."  The  Statutes  of  the  College  are 
framed  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  Charter.  So  long  ago  as  1783, 
those  students  who  regularly  observed  the  seventh  day  as  the  Sabbath,  were 
exempted  from  the  operation  of  the  law  which  required  every  student,  as 
a  moral  duty,  to  attend  public  worship  on  the  first  day  of  the  week.  Those 
who  statedly  attended  the  Friends'  meeting  were  expressly  "  permitted 
to  wear  their  hats  within  the  College  walls,"  «fcc.,  and  "young  gentle- 
men of  the  Hebrew  persuasion,"  were  formally  exempted  from  the  oper- 
ation of  the  law  which  commanded,  on  penalty  of  expulsion,  that  no 
student  should  deny  the  divine  authority  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment. And  yet  more — in  1770,  the  Corporation  of  the  College  declared, 
as  would  appear  from  their  Records,  that  "  the  children  of  Jews  may  be 
admitted  into  this  Institution,  and  entirely  enjoy  the  freedom  of  their  own 
religion,  without  any  constraint  or  imposition  whatever."  Although 
these  provisions  of  the  Charter,  and  of  the  Statutes  of  the  College,  may 
fall  somewhat  short  of  that  "full  liberty  in  religious  concernments,"  for 
which  Roger  Williams  contended,  yet  they  manifest  a  delicate  regard  for 
the  rights  of  conscience,  for  which,  it  is  believed,  hardly  a  parallel  can  be 
found  in  the  history  of  similar  Institutions. 


[Note  E.— Page  23.] 

It  cannot  fail  to  be  regarded  as  a  somewhat  significant  fact  that  the 
revolutionary  spirit  which,  during  the  last  year,  threatened  this  State 
with  anarchy,  was  confined  mainly  to  the  county  of  Providence,  and  to 
those  towns  in  that  county  where  extensive  manufacturing  establishments 
had  concentrated  masses  of  people,  many  of  them  not  natives  of  Hhode- 
Island,  and  most  of  them  especially  liable  to  become  the  dupes  of  design- 
ing politicians.  The  agricultural  town  of  Foster,  throughout  the  whole 
agitation,  was  sound  to  the  core  ;  and  Scituate,  though  subjected  to  many 
trials,  maintained  her  integrity  to  the  last.     The  county  of  Kent,  as  the 


37 

result  proved,  was  found  eminently  faithful  to  the  laws.  The  fidelity  of 
her  agricultunil  townships  was  never  even  doubted.  In  the  counties  of 
Washington,  Newport,  and  Bristol,  where  the  agricultural  interest  is  not 
overborne  by  a  fluctuating  manufacturing  population,  the  standard  of  in- 
surrection found  comparatively  few  recruits.  These  portions  of  the  State 
are  inhabited  almost  exclusively  by  Rhode-Island  men,  born  and  bred 
upon  the  soil  which  they  both  know  how  to  cultivate  and  to  defend. 


[Note  F— Page  25.] 

These  eminent  citizens  sustained,  for  so  many  years,  an  intimate  rela- 
tion to  the  Charter  government,  that  the  following  biographical  memo- 
randa respecting  them,  will  not,  in  the  present  connexion,  be  deemed 
inappropriate. 

Hon.  James  Blrrii.l,  LL.  D.,  was  born  in  Providence,  April  2.5,  1772. 
He  was  graduated  at  Rhode-Island  College,  in  1788,  when  only  sixteen 
years  old,  and  having  obtained  his  professional  education  under  the  late 
Hon.  Theodore  Foster  and  David  Howell,  commenced,  at  the  early  age 
of  nineteen,  the  practice  of  the  law  in  his  native  town.  In  17L>7,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-five,  he  was  elected,  by  the  Legislature,  to  the  office  of 
Attorney-General,  vice  the  Hon.  Ray  Greene,  appointed  a  Senator  in 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  So  decided  were  his  professional 
merits,  and  so  strong  was  his  hold  upon  the  public  favor,  that,  amid  all 
the  competitions  of  party,  he  was  annually  re-elected  Attorney-General, 
till,  after  a  laborious  service  of  about  sixteen  years,  he  was  compelled,  by 
delicate  health,  to  retire  from  office,  in  the  year  1813.  With  the  law  of 
the  State  which  requires  the  Attorney-General  to  "  give  his  attendance 
at  the  General  Assembly,'  Mr.  Burrill  never  failed  punctually  to  com- 
ply. By  him  were  draughted  many  of  the  most  important  statutes  which 
were  enacted  by  that  body,  while,  in  virtue  of  his  office,  he  participated, 
to  a  certain  extent,  in  the  legislative  counsels  of  the  State.  In  June, 
1813,  he  was  returned  as  one  of  the  four  Representatives  in  the  General 
Assembly  from  the  town  of  Providence  ;  and,  in  May  1814,  he  was  elect- 
ed Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repr(>senlatives,  the  duties  of  which  office 
he  discharged  witii  distinguished  ability.  In  181(>,  he  was  elected  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Rhode-Island  ;  and,  a  few  months  after- 
wards, a  Senator  in  Congress.  He  attended  only  four  sessions  of  that 
body,  his  valuable  life  having  been  prematurely  terminati'd  bv  a  pul- 
monarv  disease,  Decemb(>r  25,  1820,  in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  his  age. 
His  remains  were  interred  at  Washington,  in  the  cemetery  appropriated 
to  members  of  Congress,  &c.  His  death  created  a  sensation  of  profound 
regret  among  his  constituents  ;  and,  at  the  refpiest  of  the  Providence 
Bar,  the  Hon.  Tristam  Burges  pronounced  a  Eulogy  upon  the  life  and 
character   of    their   eminent   associate.     Rhode-Island    has   given  birth 

8 


58 

to  few  men  bo  distinguished  as  was  Mr.  Burrill,  for  intellectual  gifls 
and  acquirements.  A  more  able  and  successful  advocate,  our  courts,  it 
is  believed,  have  never  known ;  and  the  high  reputation  which  he  was 
not  slow  to  acquire  at  Washington,  may  be  deemed  no  unequivocal  proof 
of  his  talents  as  a  statesman  and  as  a  parliamentary  debater.  Mr.  Bur- 
rill, however,  did  not  confine  himself  either  to  law  or  to  politics.  Hi» 
reading  was  various  and  extensive,  especially  in  the  department  of  ele- 
gant literature ;  and  so  retentive  was  his  memory,  that  he  seemed  able  to 
command,  at  pleasure,  even  the  acquisitions  of  his  desultory  hours.  No 
man  enjoyed,  with  keener  relish,  the  characteristic  beauties  of  the  litera- 
ture of  England ;  and  no  man,  in  ordinary  conversation,  brought  to  bear 
upon  whatever  topic  might  happen  to  be  introduced,  a  greater  variety  of 
interesting  facts,  or  unambitiously  poured  himself  out  in  a  strain  of  more 
instructive  remark.  Like  many  distinguished  lawyers,  he  seldom  or 
never  used  his  pen,  except  in  the  discharge  of  his  ordinary  professional 
duties.  Hence  he  neglected,  perhaps,  the  most  eflBcient  means  of  trans- 
mitting to  posterity  those  impressions  of  intellectual  power  which  emi- 
nent men  leave  upon  the  minds  of  their  contemporaries. 

The  Hon.  Samuel  Eddy,  LL.  D.,  was  born  in  Johnston,  R.  I.,  March. 
31,  1769.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Brown  University,  in  1787,  and  was  a 
classmate  of  Dr.  Maxcy,  subsequently  the  President  of  that  Institution, 
with  whom  he  maintained  a  long  and  cordial  friendship.  He  read  law 
with  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Bourne,  and  was  afterwards  his  co-partner 
in  the  practice  of  the  law,  in  Providence.  In  1790,  he  was  chosen, 
by  the  General  Assembly,  Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  for  the 
county  of  Providence,  to  which  ofiice  he  was  annually  re-elected  for  three 
years.  In  December,  1797,  he  was  elected,  by  the  General  Assembly, 
Secretary  of  State,  in  the  place  of  Henry  Ward,  Esq.,  deceased ;  and  to 
that  office  he  was  annually  re-elected,  by  the  people,  vnthout  opposition, 
till  May,  1819,  when  he  declined  a  re-election.  On  his  retirement  from 
the  Secretaryship  of  State,  the  General  Assembly  unanimously  voted 
their  thanks  to  him,  "  for  his  distinguished  talents  and  ability  manifest- 
ed in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  said  office,  for  more  than  twenty 
years." 

This  long  term  of  official  service  embraced  a  period  of  extraordinary 
excitement  in  the  politics  of  the  country,  and  of  the  State.  To  the 
praise  of  Mr.  Eddy,  however,  and  not  less  to  the  credit  of  the  people,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  no  attempt  was  ever  made  to  remove  him  from 
an  office,  the  duties  of  which  he  performed  with  signal  ability,  and,  amid 
all  the  changes  of  party,  with  an  impartiality  which  disarmed  opposition. 
While  his  distinguished  contemporary,  James  Burrill,  the  Attorney-Gen- 
eral, attended,  year  after  year,  the  sittings  of  the  General  Assembly, 
occupying,  according  to  usage,  a  seat  near  the  Chair  of  the  Speaker  of 
the  House,  Mr.  Eddy  being  considered,  in  virtue  of  his  office,  as  Secre-. 


59 

tary  of  the  Senate,  likewise  attended,  year  after  year,  the  sittings  of  the 
Assembly,  and  was  seated  at  the  same  Board  with  the  Governor  and 
Senate.  This  duty  sometimes  involved  something  beyond  the  mere  ex- 
ercise of  clerical  skill  and  quiet  diligence.  The  Senate  being  composed, 
nearly  at  all  times,  of  gentlemen  not  bred  to  the  law,  some  imperfections 
in  statutes,  whether  originating  in  the  Senate,  or  passed  by  the  House, 
might  very  naturally  be  e.xpected  to  escape  detection.  The  clear  dis- 
cernment and  the  professional  knowledge  of  the  Secretary  were,  however, 
always  at  their  command ;  and,  though  never  obtrusively  tendered,  they 
were  never  perversely  withheld. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  relinquishing  the  office  which  he  had  so  long  held, 
Mr.  Eddy  made  the  following  interesting  priv^ate  record  :  "  May  5,  1819. 
This  day  terminated  my  duties  as  Secretary  of  the  State.  I  have  the  sat- 
isfaction to  believe  that,  in  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties,  I  have 
been  free  from  partiality.  I  have  never  knowingly  received  mere  than 
my  lawful  fees,  and  no  man's  business  has  been  refused,  or  left  undonej 
for  want  of  money." 

At  the  August  election,  in  1818,  Mr.  Eddy  was  elected  one  of  the  two 
Representatives  in  Congress,  from  Rhode-Island.  To  this  station  he  was 
twice  re-elected,  and  was  hence  a  member  of  the  national  councils  for  six 
years,  from  1819  to  1825. 

In  May,  1827,  upon  the  re-organization  of  the  Supreme  Court,  he  was 
appointed  Chief  Justice,  and  was  annually  re-elected  till  June,  1835, 
when  sickness  conipelh'd  him  to  retire  forever  from  public  life. 

Judge  Eddy,  throughout  his  long  and  useful  life,  was  diligent  in  the 
cultivation  of  his  intellectual  powers.  At  one  period  in  his  career,  his 
attention  was  almost  exclusively  directed  to  studies  connected  with  the 
evidences,  doctrines  and  duties  of  religion.  Few  laymen  more  carefully 
investigated  these  high  matters,  or  acquired,  respecting  them,  a  larger 
amount  of  valuable  learning,  both  practical  and  critical.  At  a  subse- 
quent period,  he  devoted  no  small  portion  of  his  leisure  hours  to  the  ac- 
quisition of  some  of  the  physical  sciences.  With  youthful  ardor,  he  pur- 
sued the  study  of  geology,  mineralogy,  and  more  especially  of  conchology, 
and  the  collections  which  he  made  to  illustrate  those  sciences  are  credi- 
table to  his  industry,  taste  and  knowledge. 

Judge  Eddy  was  no  debater,  but  he  was  an  excellent  writer.  He  loved 
the  English  language,  in  all  its  Saxon  vigor,  and  purity,  and  expressive- 
ness ;  and  in  practice  he  was  careful  to  exclude  those  innovations  which 
the  modern  taste  si-ems  inclined  to  countenance. 

Last  of  all,  Judge  Eddy  was  a  Rhode-Island  man,  "after  the  straitest 
of  the  sect."  No  man  was  more  firmly  attached  to  the  principles  of 
Roger  Williams,  in  relation  to  religious  concernments  ;  and  no  man  was 
more  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  State,  or  more  highly  prized  the 
blessings  of  regulated  liberty,  enjoyed  under  the  Old  Charter.  He  died 
at  his  mansion  house,  in  Providence,  February  3,  1839,  aged  69  years. 


60 

The  Hon.  Elisha  Reynolds  Pott«b  was  born  at  Little-Rest,  no,w 
Kingston,  in  the  town  of  South-Kingstown,  (R.  I.)  November  5th,  1764. 
In  the  year  1778,  when  only  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  enlisted,  as  a 
private  soldier,  for  the  purpose  of  joining  the  Expedition  command- 
ed by  General  Sullivan.  Before,  however,  he  was  called  into  active  ser- 
vice, Rhode-Island  was  evacuated  by  the  American  troops.  Mr.  Potter 
was  a  self-made  man,  and,  throughout  his  long  life,  he  exhibited  those 
striking  characteristics  which  are  most  strongly  developed  in  those  who 
are  obliged  to  carve  their  own  way  to  distinction.  Early  in  life,  he  be- 
came an  apprentice  to  a  blacksmith,  and  worked  at  that  useful  occupation 
sufficiently  long  to  become  somewhat  expert  in  its  various  labors.  This 
occupation,  however,  was  not  destined  to  be  the  business  of  his  life.  His 
academical  education,  like  that  of  most  men  who,  at  that  period,  entered 
into  life,  under  similar  circumstances,  was  far  from  complete.  Some  of 
the  elementary  studies  he  pursued,  for  a  time,  at  Plainfield,  (Conn.)  under 
the  instruction  of  Mr.  Dabol,  whose  arithmetic,  forty  years  ago,  was  a  fa- 
vorite text-book  in  our  common  schools.  For  the  exact  sciences  he  had 
quite  a  taste,  and  in  some  of  the  less  difficult  branches,  he  made,  con- 
sidering his  opportunities,  respectable  proficiency. 

That  portion  of  his  professional  education  which  Mr.  Potter  did  not  owe 
to  himself,  he  acquired  under  Matthew  Robinson,  a  celebrated  lawyer, 
who  removed  from  Newport  to  Narragansett,  in  1750,  and  there  resided 
till  his  death,  in  1795.  He  continued  to  practise  law,  till  lie  reached  the 
ago  of  about  forty  years,  when  the  fascinations  of  political  life  withdrew 
him  from  the  business  of  the  Courts.  As  an  advocate,  he  was  successful, 
although  he  was  often  obliged  to  contend  with  Robinson  and  Bourne, 
and  Bradford,  then  distinguished  practitioners  at  the  Rhode-Island  Bar. 
Mr.  Potter's  last  forensic  effort  was  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  at  Washington,  not  many  years  before  his  death,  when  he 
made  the  opening  argument  in  a  case  of  his  own,  and  was  followed  by  Mr. 
Wirt,  in  the  close.     Most  of  this  argument  he  committed  to  writing. 

In  April,  1793,  Mr.  Potter  was  first  elected  a  Representative  to  the 
General  Assembly — destined  to  be,  with  few  interruptions,  the  scene  upon 
which  he  was  to  exhibit  his  extraordinary  powers,  for  more  than  forty 
years.  He  continued  to  represent  his  native  town  in  the  Legislature,  till 
October  1796.  In  November  of  that  year,  he  was  elected  a  Representative 
in  the  4th  Congress,  in  the  place  of  Judge  Bourne,  who  had  resigned  his 
seat.  He  was,  at  the  same  time,  chosen  to  the  5th  Congress,  in  the  place 
of  Judge  Bourne,  who  had  been  elected,  and  had  declined.  .M  r.  Potter 
likewise  resigned  his  seat,  before  his  term  of  service  had  expired,  and 
returned  home.     Hon.  Christopher  G.  Champlin  was  his  colleague. 

In  August  1798,  he  was  again  returned  to  the  General  Assembly  from 
South  Kingstown,  and  there  he  remained,  till  in  1809  he  was  again 
elected  a  Representative  in  Congress.  He  continued  in  Congress,  with 
his  colleague,  the  late  Hon.  Richard  Jackson,  for  six  years,  when  they 
both  declined  a  re-election. 


61 

In  August  1816,  Mr.  Potter  was  again  elected  a  member  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  ;  and,  thenceforward,  he  was  re-elected  semi-annually  till 
his  death,  except  in  April  1818,  when,  being  a  candidate  for  the  office  of 
Governor,  he  could  not  become  a  candidate  for  the  inferior  office.  Al- 
though he  lived  in  times  of  high  political  excitement,  and,  as  a  politician, 
was  never  required  to  define  his  position,  yet  so  prevailing  was  his  per- 
sonal influence,  that  he  was  never  opposed  but  twice,  as  a  candidate  for 
the  Legislature.  In  both  of  these  contests,  which  were  extremely  ar- 
dent, he  succeeded  by  decided  majorities.  During  his  long  term  of  ser- 
vice in  the  General  Assembly,  Mr.  Potter  was  five  times  elected  Speaker 
of  the  House— in  October  17t).'>,  May  179(3,  October  17'JG,  May  18U2,  and 
October  1808. 

Perhaps  no  political  man  in  tliis  State,  ever  acquired  or  maintained, 
often  amid  many  adverse  circumstances,  a  more  commanding  influence. 
This  influence  was  the  rcs.ult,  mainl}',  of  his  powers  and  qualities  as  a 
man  ;  of  his  rare  natural  endowments — his  intuitive  perception  of  char- 
acter— his  large  acquaintance  with  the  motives,  principles  and  passions 
which  belong  to  human  nature,  and  determine  the  conduct  of  men.  He 
was  not  a  favorite  of  the  mass  of  the  people,  for,  politician  though  he 
was,  he  neglected  many  of  tiie  most  effi^ctive  means  of  winning  populari- 
ty. Over  tlie  minds,  however,  of  those,  whether  friends  or  foes,  to  wiiom 
in  political  concernments  the  people  are  wont  to  look  for  direction,  he 
always  exerted  an  extraordinary  influence.  When  a  member  of  Con- 
gress, from  1809  to  1815,  he  did  not,  like  most  members  of  his  party, 
durincr  that  stormy  period,  sever  himself  from  all  familiar  associations 
with  his  antagonists.  On  the  contrary,  he  mingled  freely  with  them, 
and  though  he  never  exposed  to  suspicion  liis  fidelity  as  a  politician,  he 
won  them  to  an  easy  and  generous  confidence  in  the  virtues  of  the  man. 

After  his  retirement  from  Congress,  Mr.  Potter  maintained  an  exten- 
sive correspondence  with  those  leading  politicians  at  Washington,  whose 
political  sympathies  were  in  harmony  with  his  own.  He  seldom  wrote 
for  the  newspapers,  except  under  his  own  signature  ;  but  at  different 
times  he  put  forth  pampiilets  intended  to  influence  the  politics  of  the 
dav  in  Rhode-Island.  Though  he  was  unskilled  in  the  art  of  composi- 
tion, yet  he  always  expressed  himself  with  clearness  and  vigor  ;  causing 
the  strong  conceptions  of  his  strong  mind  to  fall  with  decided  effect 
upon  the  minds  of  others. 

During  his  long  legislative  career,  Mr.  Potter  seldom  or  never  made 
speeches  which  were  the  work  of  premeditation.  He  never  spoke, 
however,  without  finding  willing  listeners  and  producing  a  strong  ef- 
fect, lit!  was  always  forcible,  and  at  times  he  was  eloquent.  Wiien, 
more  especially,  the  warm  current  of  his  kindly  emotions  had  acquired  a 
quicker  flow,  by  some  a{)peal  to  his  syini)athies  as  a  juan,  his  gigantic 
frame  would  almost  tremble  with  agitated  sensibilities.  When  the  unfor- 
timate  asked  for  relief,  or  when  tiie  guilty  sued  for  pardon,  the  states- 
man was  lost  in  the  man.     On  such  occasions,  he  has  been  known  to  pour 


62 

forth  a  strain  of  uncultivated  and  powerful  eloquence,  which  came  from 
the  heart  and  went  to  the  heart. 

Although  Mr.  Potter  was,  for  so  many  years,  an  active  and  prominent 
politician,  yet  he  was  not  unaccustomed,  at  intervals,  to  look  for  pleasure 
and  instruction  to  some  of  the  master  spirits  of  English  literature.  Of 
Shakspeare,  he  was  particularly  fond,  attracted,  doubtless,  by  the  mar- 
vellous knowledge  of  the  springs  of  human  action,  which  is  discovered  by 
that  unequalled  dramatist. 

Mr.  Potter  loved  his  native  State  with  genuine  ardor,  and  no  man  was 
more  indignant  when  either  her  rights  were  invaded  or  her  honor  assailed. 
Had  he  lived  to  witness  the  trials  through  which  she  has  just  passed  un- 
hurt, he  would  have  put  forth  all  the  energies  of  his  mind,  and  all  his  in- 
fluence as  a  politician,  in  vindication  of  the  majesty  of  the  laws  and  the 
rights  of  the  people. 

Mr.  Potter  departed  this  life  at  his  residence,  in  Kingston,  September 
26,  1835,  aged  70  years. 

Hon.  Besjamix  Hazard  was  born  in  Middletown,  the  town  which  ad- 
joins Newport,  Sept.  18,  1770.  He  was  graduated  at  Brown  University, 
in  1792.  After  studying  law  with  the  late  Hon.  David  Howell,  at  that 
time  a  distinguished  practitioner  in  Providence,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
Bar,  in  the  year  1796,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
the  town  of  Newport.  For  several  years,  Mr.  Hazard  did  not  occupy 
himself  seriously  with  the  business  of  the  courts,  but  he  failed  not  in  the 
end  to  acquire,  and  he  maintained  to  the  last,  a  distinguished  rank  at  the 
Bar  of  his  native  State.  At  the  August  election,  in  1809,  he  was  first 
elected  a  Representative  from  the  town  of  Newport,  a  vacancy  having 
been  created  in  the  delegation,  by  the  election  to  the  Senate  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  of  the  late  Hon.  Christopher  Grant  Champlin.  Mr.  Hazard's 
colleagues  from  Newport,  were  at  that  time,  George  Gibbs,  William 
Hunter,  John  P.  Man,  John  L.  Boss,  Stephen  Cahoone — none  of  whom, 
except  Mr.  Cahoone,  the  present  General  Treasurer,  and  Mr.  Hunter, 
the  American  Ambassador  at  Brazil,  are  now  among  the  living  upon 
earth.  The  duties  of  this  station,  he  continued  to  discharge  with  eminent 
ability,  for  the  term  of  thirty-one  successive  years.  From  Oct.  1816,  to 
May  1818,  he  presided  over  the  deliberations  of  the  House.  At  the  Au- 
gust election,  in  1840,  he  declined  a  re-election,  and  retired  from  public 
life.  In  accordance  with  a  provision  of  the  royal  Charter,  so  democratic 
as  to  be  without  precedent,  the  election  of  Representatives  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  was  required  to  be  made  twice  in  every  year.  Thus  was 
Mr.  Hazard  subjected,  in  the  course  of  his  public  life,  to  the  ordeal  of 
sixty-two  popular  elections  !  The  confidence  which  his  townsmen  early 
reposed  in  him,  was  never  withdrawn.  Amid  all  the  fluctuations  of 
party,  he  was  re-elected,  generally,  though  not  in  all  cases,  without  op- 
position. Rarely,  in  New-England,  is  it  the  fortune  of  a  public  man  to 
command,  from  the  same  constituents,  and  under  similar  circumstances, 


63 

a  confidence  bo  long  and  so  uninterruptedly  continued  !  Mr.  Hazard 
felt  himself  at  home  in  the  General  Assembly.  There,  and  not  in  our 
courts  or  primary  assemblies,  did  he  put  forth  with  the  most  effect  the 
uncommon  powers  with  which  he  was  gifted.  His  talents  for  debate 
would  have  won  for  him  no  mean  rank,  even  in  the  highest  deliberative 
body  in  our  country.  The  tricks  of  oratory — the  artificial  embellish- 
ments of  rhetorick — he  seemed  to  scorn — but,  if  his  aim  were  either  to 
support  or  to  defeat  a  measure,  no  man  was  a  more  skilful  master  of  the 
language  and  of  the  style  of  argument  required  for  his  purpose.  No 
man  more  clearly  comprehended,  and  at  times  more  ably  defended,  the 
true  merits  of  a  public  question.  No  man,  too,  it  should  be  added,  better 
knew  how  to  perplex  his  adversaries  by  subtle  objections,  or  to  wither 
them  by  caustic  sarcasm.  Mr.  Hazard  was  fond  of  reading.  In  my  last 
interview  with  him,  not  many  montlis  before  his  death,  he  spoke,  with 
great  animation  and  emphasis,  of  Iiis  relish  for  Shakspcarc,  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  and  Dean  Swift.  His  predilection  for  the  latter,  will  not  surprise 
those  who  recal  to  memory  the  celebrity  of  Swift,  as  a  politician,  and  the 
wonderful  influence  which,  by  the  peculiar  character  and  direction  of 
his  intellect,  he  obtained  over  the  popular  mind.  Mr.  Hazard  could  boast 
a  true  Rhode-Island  lineage,  and  he  was,  in  spirit,  a  genuine  Rhode- 
Island  man — attached  to  the  old  Charter,  and  to  all  the  institutions  which 
grew  up  under  it.  The  Report  on  the  Extension  of  Suffrage,  made  by  a 
Committee  of  which  he  was  Chairman,  in  the  year  182i),  is  characterised 
by  unusual  ability.  It  is  among  the  very  few  productions  of  his  pen  to 
which  he  attached  his  name,  and,  in  style  and  argument,  may,  perhaps, 
be  deemed  one  of  the  best  specimens  of  his  peculiar  powers.  He  died 
at  Newport,  March  10,  1841,  aged  6'J  years. 


[Note  G— Page  35.] 

In  connexion  with  these  topics,  I  must  be  pardoned  for  introducing 
the  following  passages  from  an  admirable  Address,  delivered  in  July  1841, 
before  the  Literary  Societies  of  William  and  Mary  College,  in  Virginia, 
by  Judge  Upshur,  the  present  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  If  every  public 
man  uttered  such  sentiments,  there  would  be  less  reason  for  solicitude  in 
regard  to  the  coming  destinies  of  the  Republic  : 

"  It  is  the  very  object  and  purpose  of  a  constitution  of  government  to 
secure  the  rights  of  all ;  so  to  surround  them  with  guards  and  protections 
that  every  class  and  every  individual  may  be  safe  from  the  encroach- 
ments of  others.  This,  then,  is  the />r</ic//;/e  of  free  government.  When 
the  equal  rights  of  all  men  are  thus  brought  within  the  protection  of  the 
constitutional  charter,  tiie  next  step  is  to  provide  the  requisite  pojcer  for 
ensuring  that  protection.  And  here  it  is,  that  the  true  claim  of  the  ma- 
jority is  found.  It  is  by  their  will  that  the  powers  of  government  are  to 
be  wielded  ;   but  rights  are  in  the  frame  of  government  itself,  and  ao 


64 

Jong  as  that  frame  is  permitted  to  stand,  those  rights  are  secured  in  every 
individual  against,  not  a  majority  only — but  against  all  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  community.  We  should  be  careful  then  to  distinguish  be- 
tween the  rights  and  tlie  powers  of  government.  The  first  are  as  per 
feet  and  as  sacred  in  the  individual  as  in  the  aggregate  whole;  the  sec- 
ond, only,  are  yielded  to  the  majority.  But  they  are  not  yielded  to  the 
arbitrary  discretion  of  that  majority,  for  this  would  be  in  effect,  to  con- 
cede the  right  along  with  the  power.  The  majority  are  merely  the  de- 
positaries of  the  power  of  the  whole,  to  execute  the  will  of  the  whole,  as 
that  will  is  expressed  in  the  frame  of  tlie  government.  To  this  extent, 
the  will  of  the  majority  ought  to  prevail :  and  whatever  it  does  beyond 
this,  is  of  the  nature  of  usurpation  and  tyranny." 

"  This  claim  of  absolute  and  unlimited  power  in  the  majority,  is  the 
first  step  in  the  downward  progress  of  liberty.  It  is  a  claim  which  the 
unreflecting  are  very  apt  to  allow,  because  it  is  preferred  in  the  very 
name  of  liberty.  There  is  something  generous  and  self-sacrificing  in 
yielding  to  the  will  of  the  greater  number.  We  do  so  from  impulse, 
without  pausing  to  reflect  on  the  grasping  character  of  power  and  the 
fatal  tendencies  of  a  principle  which  submits  the  rights  of  social  man  to 
the  caprices  of  the  multitude.  From  this  source  has  sprung  agrarian- 
ism,  that  seeks  to  give  idleness  and  vice  the  hard  earnings  of  industry 
and  virtue  ;  the  levelling  principle,  which  seeks  to  bring  down  all  that  is 
good  and  wise  to  the  grade  of  ignorance  and  profligacy;  the  natural 
rights  doctrine,  that  overlooks  all  social  obligations,  denies  the  inherita- 
ble quality  of  property,  unfrocks  the  priest  and  laughs  at  the  marriage 
tie.  As  soon  as  you  have  conceded  the  powers  of  government,  the  rights 
are  claimed  also.  The  majority  are  admitted  to  possess  the  power  of 
moulding  the  government  at  their  will ;  those  who  imposed  restraints 
may  take  them  away.  True,  there  is  a  form  in  which  alone,  this  can  be 
legitimately  done  ;  a  process  that  requires  time,  and  which  may  thus 
cool  the  ardor  of  innovation,  and  give  wisdom  a  chance  to  arrest  the 
career  of  folly.  But  forms,  also,  are  claimed  to  be  within  the  absolute 
power  of  the  majority.  They  soon  come  to  be  regarded  as  obstacles  to 
the  fair  course  of  the  popular  will,  and  are  swept  away  as  the  mere  em- 
barrassments of  freedom.  The  people  are  taught  to  think  that,  as  all 
power  is  with  them,  they  have  a  right  to  do  directly,  what  they  have  a 
right  to  do  indirectly  ;  and  that  as  the  forms  of  government  are  but  the 
channels  through  which  their  will  is  expressed,  it  is  enough  that  their 
will  is  known  ;  and  forms  are  therefore  unnecessary.  The  facility  thus 
afforded,  invites  into  action  all  the  vices  which  the  restraints  of  govern- 
ment held  in  check ;  and  the  first  objects  of  their  attack  are  the  virtues 
which  put  them  to  shame.  The  numerical  majority  assert  the  kingly 
prerogative,  and  by  virtue  of  their  royal  and  absolute  power,  strike  down 
the  riglits  of  property,  legalize  rapine,  overturn  all  government,  and 
drink  health  to  confusion  !     The  Jack  Cade  with  many  heads,  reeling  in 


e>5 

the  intoxication  of  power,  and  striding  over  every  prostrate  right,  issues 
his  royal  edict,  that  "  there  shall  be  no  law  when  he  is  king !  !  !" 

"  The  worst  enemy  of  rational  liberty  is  the  demagogue.  He  is,  and 
ever  has  been,  the  bane  of  free  States.  He  begins  by  flattering  the  peo- 
ple, and  ends  by  betraying  them.  It  is  from  him,  that  they  learn  to 
despise  all  the  restraints  which  they  themselves  have  imposed.  He  per- 
suades them  to  think  that  their  voice  is  the  voice  of  God,  and  that  their 
power  can  secure  the  blessings  of  a  sober  and  chastened  liberty,  amid  the 
riot  of  a  licentious  freedom.  If  they  do  not  die  in  this  delusion,  they 
wake  from  it,  in  slavery  and  chains.  The  voice  of  the  people  is  the 
voice  of  God,  only  when  it  echoes  back  the  precept  which  stays  the  arm 
of  violence,  and  covers  with  the  shield  of  divine  justice,  the  rights  of  so- 
cial man." 


[Note  H— Page  48.] 
William  Ellery,  one  of  the  illustrious  signers  of  the  Declaration  of 
American  Independence,  was  born  in  Newport,  Dec.  22, 1727.  There  he 
passed  the  whole  of  his  long  life,  except  when  absent  in  the  public  ser- 
vice ;  and  there  he  died,  Feb.  15,  1820,  in  the  93d  year  of  his  age.  His 
grave  is  not  among  the  least  interesting  memorials  of  by-gone  times  to  be 
found  at  Newport. 

Oliver  Hazard  Perry,  who  at  the  age  of  27  years,  achieved  the  victory 
of  Lake  Erie,  was  born  at  South-Kingstown,  Aug.  23, 1785.  He  died  at 
Port  Spain,  Trinidad,  Aug.  23,  1819,  aged  34  years.  His  remains  were 
conveyed  to  his  native  land,  in  a  ship  of  war,  according  to  an  act  of  Con- 
gress, and  were  interred  at  Newport,  which  had  long  been  his  home, 
Dec.  4,  1826.  A  neat  granite  monument,  bearing  an  appropriate  inscrip- 
tion, has  been  erected  by  the  State  of  Rhode-Island,  to  indicate  the  spot 
where  sleep  the  ashes  of  one  of  the  most  heroic  of  her  sons. 


[Note  I— Page  48.] 
The  celebrated  Geokge  Berkeley,  D.  D.,  Dean  of  Derry,  and  after- 
wards Bishop  of  Cloyne,  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  the  year  1684.  Intent 
on  the  conversion  of  the  American  savages  to  Christianity,  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  College  in  the  Bermuda  Islands,  he  arrived  at  Newport, 
with  his  family  and  several  literary  and  scientific  gentlemen,  January  23, 
1729.  In  a  short  biographical  sketch  of  Bishop  Berkeley,  prefixed  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Elton,  of  Brown  University,  to  his  edition  of  Callender's 
Century  Sermon,  may  be  found  the  following  interesting  particulars  con- 
cerning the  Bishops  residence  on  Rhode-Island  :  "  Soon  after  his  arrival, 
the  Dean  purchased  a  country  seat  and  farm  about  three  miles  from  New- 
port, and  there  erected  a  house  which  he  named  Whitehall.  He  was  ad- 
mitted a  freeman  of  the  Colony  at  the  General  Assembly  in  1729.     He 

9 


66 

resided  at  Newport  about  two  years  and  a  half,  and  often  preached  aV 
Trinity  Church.  Though  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  Europe,  without 
effecting  his  original  design,  yet  his  visit  was  of  great  utility  in  imparting 
an  impulse  to  the  literature  of  our  country,  particularly  in  Rhode-Island 
and  Connecticut.  Daring  his  residence  on  the  island  of  Rhode-Island,  he 
meditated  and  composed  his  Mciphrouy  or  Minute  Philosopher,  and  tra- 
dition says,  principally  at  a  place,  about  half  a  mile  southerly  from 
Whitehall.  There,  in  the  most  elevated  part  of  the  Hajiging  Rocks,  (so 
called,)  he  found  a  natural  alcove,  roofed  and  opening  to  the  south,  com- 
manding at  once  a  beautiful  view  of  the  ocean  and  the  circumjacent  is- 
lands.    This  place  is  said  to  have  been  his  favorite  retreat." 

The  learned  Dean  repeatedly  visited  Narragansett,  and  so  enraptured 
was  he  with  the  prospect  from  Barber's  heights,  in  North  Kingstown, 
that  he  expressed  a  desire  to  select  it  as  the  site  for  his  projected  (/'ollege. 
Failing  in  his  favorite  plan,  he  returned  to  England,  in  1733,  and  died  at 
Oxford,  in  1753,  in  the  7.3d  year  of  his  age. 

The  organ  presented  by  him  to  Trinity  Church,  Newport,  after  his  re- 
turn, is  still  in  constant  use,  and  is  among  the  most  interesting  objects  in 
that  venerable  edifice. 

William  Ellery  Changing,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Newport,  in  the 
y«ar  1780.  There  he  passed  the  scenes  of  his  early  boyhood,  and  there, 
or  rather  at  a  beautiful  retreat  only  a  few  miles  distant  from  the  town, 
he  was  accustomed,  in  his  riper  years,  to  seek  health  and  repose,  dur.ng 
the  heats  of  summer.  The  influences  of  the  scenery  of  the  island,  in 
moulding  the  spirit  of  Dr.  Channing,  are  most  eloquently  described  in 
the  following  passage  from  a  Sermon  on  "  Christian  Worship,"  preached 
by  him  at  the  dedication  of  a  Church,  in  Newport,  July  27,  1836  : 

"  As  my  mind  unfolded,  I  became  more  and  more  alive  to  the  beautiful 
scenery  which  now  attracts  strangers  to  our  island.  My  first  liberty  was 
used  in  roaming  over  the  neighboring  fields  and  shores ;  and  amid  this 
glorious  nature,  that  love  of  liberty  sprang  up,  which  has  gained  strength 
within  me  to  this  hour.  I  early  received  impressions  of  the  great  and 
beautiful,  which  I  believe  have  had  no  small  influence  in  determining  my 
modes  of  thought  and  habits  of  life.  In  this  town  I  pursued,  for  a 
time,  my  studies  of  theology.  I  had  no  professor  or  teacher  to  guide 
me  ;  but  I  had  two  noble  places  of  study.  One  was  yonder  beautiful  ed- 
ifice, [the  Redwood  Library,]  now  so  frequented,  and  so  useful  as  a  pub- 
lic library,  then  so  deserted  that  I  spent  day  after  day,  and  sometimes 
week  aflier  week,  amidst  its  dusty  volumes,  without  interruption  from  a 
single  visitor.  The  other  place  was  yonder  beach,  the  roar  of  which  has 
so  often  mingled  with  the  worship  of  this  place,  my  daily  resort,  dear  to 
me  in  the  sunshine,  still  more  attractive  in  the  storm.  Seldom  do  I  visit 
it  now  without  thinking  of  the  work,  which  there,  in  the  sight  of  that 
beauty,  in  the  sound  of  those  waves,  was  carried  on  in  my  soul.    No  spot 


67 

on  earth  has  helped  to  form  me  bo  much  as  that  beach.  There  I  hfled 
up  my  voice  in  praise  amidst  the  tempest.  There,  softened  by  beauty,  I 
poured  out  my  thaniisgiving  and  contrite  confessions.  There,  in  rever- 
ential sympathy  with  the  mighty  power  around  me,  I  became  conscious 
of  power  within.  There  struggling  thoughts  and  emotions  broke  forth  as 
if  moved  to  utterance  by  nature's  eloquence  of  the  winds  and  the  waves. 
There  began  a  happiness  surpassing  all  worldly  pleasures,  all  gifts  of  for- 
tune, the  happiness  of  communing  with  the  works  of  God.  Pardon  me 
this  reference  to  myself.  I  believe  that  the  worship,  of  which  1  have  this 
day  spoken,  was  aided  in  my  own  soul  by  the  scenes  in  which  my  early 
life  was  passed.  Amidst  these  scenes,  and  in  speaking  of  this  worship, 
allow  me  to  thank  God,  that  this  beautiful  island  was  the  place  of  my 
birth." 

This  pure  and  highly  gifted  man  died,  while  on  an  excursion  for  the 
benefit  of  his  health,  at  Bennington,  Vermont,  October  2, 1842,  aged  62 
years. 


[Note  J— Page  48.] 

The  whole  of  the  beautiful  and  spirited  lyrical  effusion,  from  which  I 
have  quoted  two  stanzas,  deserves  to  be  embodied  in  a  form  less  epheme- 
ral than  the  pages  of  a  newspaper.  It  was  first  published  in  the  Provi- 
dence Journal,  of  July  15,  1842,  and  is  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  George 
Burgess,  A.  M.,  a  native  of  Providence,  (R.  I.)  and  now  Rector  of 
Christ's  Church,  (Hartford,  Conn.)  The  Notes  which  I  have  added,  are 
intended  to  explain  allusions  which  might  otherwise  be  obscure  to  people 
abroad . 

O  gallant  land  of  bosoms  true. 

Still  bear  that  stainless  shield  ! 
That  anchor  clung,  the  tempest  through  ; 

That  hope,  untaught  to  yield  ! 
Fair  city,  "  all  thy  banners  wave," 

And  high  thy  trumpet  sound  !  ' 

The  name  thy  righteous  father  gave, 

Still  guards  thee  round  and  round  ! 

No  thirst  for  war's  wild  joy  was  thine. 

Nor  flashed  one  hireling  sword  : 
Forth,  for  their  own  dear  household  shrine, 

The  patriot  yeomen  poured  ; 
There,  rank  to  rank,  like  brethren  stood, 

One  soul,  and  step,  and  hand  ; 
And  crushed  the  stranger's  robber-brood, 

And  kept  their  fathers  land.* 

"  The  first  and  second  stanzas  refer  to  the  noble  determination  of  the 
citizen  soldiers  of  Providence,  and  of  the  gallant  yeomen  who  came  to 
their  aid,  to  rescue  that  city  from  the  ignominious  and  most  calamitous 
fate,  which  would  have  •  befallen  her,  had  the  forces  of  the  Insurgents, 
embodied  at  Chepachot,  been  trininplinnt. 


68 

High  hung  the  rusting  scythe  awhile, 

And  ceased  the  spindle's  roar, 
The  boat  rocked  idly  by  the  isle, 

And  on  the  ocean  shore  ; 
The  belted  burgher  paced  his  street ; 

The  seaman  wheeled  his  gun  j 
Steel  gleamed  along  the  ruler's  seat, 

And  study's  task  was  done  ' 

Old  Narragansett  rang  with  arms. 

And  rang  the  silver  bay, 
And  that  sweet  shore  whose  girdled  charms 

Were  Philip's  ancient  sway  ; 
And  our  own  island's  halcyon  scene 

The  black  artillery  sent ; 
And  answered,  from  the  the  home  of  Greene, 

The  men  of  dauntless  Kent  !* 

Can  freedom's  truth  endure  the  shock 

That  comes  in  freedom's  name  ? 
,     Rhode-Island,  like  a  Spartan  rock, 

Upheld  her  country's  fame  ! 
The  land  that  first  threw  wide  its  gates. 

And  gave  the  exile  rest. 
First  arms  to  save  the  strength  of  States, 

And  guards  her  freedom  best. 

O  ever  thus,  dear  land  of  ours. 

Be  nurse  of  steadfast  men  ' 
So,  firmer  far  than  hills  and  towers. 

Or  rocky  pass  and  glen  I 
For  peace  alone,  to  dare  the  fight ; 

The  soldier  for  the  laws  ; 
Thine  anchor  fast  in  Heavenly  might, 

Thy  hope,  an  holy  cause  ! 

*  The  third  and  fourth  stanzas  are  exactly  descriptive  of  the  state  of 
things  in  Rhode-Island,  during  the  last  week  in  June  1842.  All  the  com- 
mon occupations  of  life  were  suspended ;  and  troops,  composed  of  infan- 
try  and  artillery,  promptly  repaired  to  Providence,  from  the  ciunty  of 
Washington,  (Old  Narragansett)  and  from  the  counties  of  Newport, 
Bristol  and  Kent.  Sentinels  were  stationed  in  the  most  frequented 
streets  of  Providence ;  an  efficient  company  of  seamen,  the  "  .Sea  Fen- 
cibles,"  was  organized  ;  the  Legislature  adjourned,  for  the  purpose  of 
allowing  the  members  to  proceed  to  the  scene  of  conflict;  and  such  con- 
fusion reigned  in  the  city,  that  the  studies  in  the  University  were  sus- 
pended, till  Commencement. 


HISTORICAL  MEMORANDA. 

Our  ancestors,  when  they  settled  in  this  State,  incorporated  themselves 
into  a  body  politic,  and,  by  unanimous  agreement,  ordained  and  declared 
their  government  to  be  a  "  democracies''  or  popular  government.  They, 
at  the  same  time,  adopted  a  resolution  that  "  none  should  be  received  as 
inhabitants  or  freemen,  but  by  consent  of  the  body."  Of  those  who  came 
hither  from  abroad,  they  admitted  such  as  "  upon  orderly  presentation 
were  found  meet  for  the  service  of  the  body,  and  no  just  exception  found 
against  them."     None  but  those  who  were  regularly  admitted  freemen 


69 

were  allowed  to  take  any  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  government ;  although 
it  is  certain  that  many  of  the  inhabitants  were  not  freemen,  or  qualified 
electors.  It  appears  from  the  early  colonial  records,  that  persons  were 
not  unfrcquently  "  disfranchised  of  the  privilf  ges  and  prerogatives  be- 
longing to  the  body  politick,"  and  that,  in  some  cases,  they  were 
*^  suspended  their  votes  till  they  had  given  satisfaction  for  their  offences." 
The  persons  thus  disfranchised  were  not  unfrcquently,  re-admitted,  and 
the  early  records  likewise  show  that  the  "censure  of  suspension"  was 
not  perpetual. 

The  Charter  of  King  Charles  II.  contains  no  provision  defining  or  reg- 
ulating tlie  right  of  suff"rage.  It  simply  empowered  the  General  Assembly 
to  choose  such  persons  as  they  should  think  fit  "to  be  free  of  the  said 
Company  and  body  politick,  and  them  into  the  same  to  admit.  "  This 
power  the  General  Assembly  continued  to  exercise,  until,  in  166C,  they 
granted  it  to  the  towns,  to  be  exercised  by  them  in  town  meeting. 

In  1663-4,  all  persons,  Avere  required  to  be  of  "  competent  estates," 
in  order  to  be  admitted  to  vote.  This  qualification  was  re-enacted  in 
1665.  In  1723-4,  was  enacted  the  statute  which  provided  that  no  per- 
person  could  be  admitted  a  freeman  of  any  town,  unless  he  owned  a 
freehold  estate  of  the  value  fixed  by  law.  In  17!)8,  the  value  of  such 
freehold  estate  was  required  to  be. $134,  and  thus  it  remained  till  the 
adoption  of  the  ('onstitution.  The  main  provisions  of  the  act  of  1723— 4 
have  been,  again  and  again,  enacted.  No  material  change  has  ever  been 
made  in  the  amount  originally  prescribed — and  that  act  has  invariably 
been  considered  by  the  General  Assembly,  and  by  the  people,  in  the  light 
of  a  fundamental  law. 

The  Charter  of  1663,  provided  that  the  towns  in  the  State  should  be  rep- 
resented by  "  not  exceeding  six  persons,  for  Newport,  four  persons  for 
each  of  the  respective  towns  of  Providence,  Portsmouth  and  Warwick, 
and  two  persons  for  each  other  town."  In  process  of  time,  owing  to  the 
increase  of  population  in  some  towns,  and  to  its  decrease  or  slow  growth 
in  others,  the  representation  from  the  towns  became  very  unequal.  This 
inequality,  however,  though  often  made  a  topic  of  complaint,  was  never 
felt,  even  by  th'i  towns,  who  were  inadequately  represented,  as  a  serious 
practical  grievance.  The  Senate,  consisting  of  the  Governor,  Lieutenant 
Governor  and  ten  Senators,  was  chosen  annually  by  general  ticket,  and 
was,  therefore,  under  the  Charter  government,  that  branch  of  the  Legisla- 
ture which  reflected,  fully  and  impartially,  the  sentiments  of  the  people. 

Within  about  twenty  years,  four  attempts  iiave  been  made,  under  the 
sanction  of  acts  of  the  t.'eneral  Assembly,  to  form  a  Constitution  for  this 
State,  all  of  which  attempts,  except  the  last,  failed.  The  first  was  made 
in  the  year  1824.  The  Constitution,  wliich  was  then  framed  and  submit- 
ted to  the  people,  corrected  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  the  alleged  evil 
of  an  unequal  representation.  It,  however,  left  untouched  the  freehold 
qualification,  rejecting,  almost  unanimously,  a  motion  to  extend  the  elec- 
tive   franchise  to  non-freeholdere      Had   this  Constitution  been  judged 


n 


according  to  its  merits,  it  would  have  met  a  better  fate.  The  people,  not 
yet  ripe  for  a  change,  rejected  it  by  a  very  decided  majority.  Total  of 
votes  for  the  Constitution,  1668 — against  it,  3,206 ;  majority  against  it,  1538. 

In  1834,  another  Convention  for  the  purpose  of  framing  a  Constitution 
dissolved,  for  want  of  a  quorum,  and  without  submitting  a  draught  of  a 
Constitution  to  the  suffrages  of  the  people.  A  motion  to  extend  the  elec- 
tive franchise  to  non-freeholders  obtained,  in  this  Convention,  only  seven 
votes,  but  four  more  than  were  obtained  in  1824.  In  this  Convention, 
seven  towns,  out  of  thirty-one,  were  unrepresented — an  indication  that, 
up  to  that  time,  the  desire  to  part  with  the  Charter  government,  or  to 
change  any  of  its  essential  provisions,  was  far  from  universal. 

In  1836,  the  Election  Law  again  underwent  a  revision  by  the  General 
Assembly,  then  composed  of  a  decided  majority  of  the  democratic  party. 
The  exclusive  freehold  qualification,  being  deemed  a  part  of  the  funda- 
mental law  of  Rhode-Island,  was,  however,  retained.  Only  two  mem- 
bers voted  in  favor  of  changing  it ! 

In  March  1840,  the  Rhode-Island  Suffrage  Association  was  formed, 
having  in  view  "  a  liberal  extension  of  suffrage  to  the  native  white  male 
citizens  of  the  United  States  resident  in  Rhode-Island."  At  that  time, 
universal  suffrage  was,  by  the  members  of  this  association,  very  generally 
repudiated.  Suffrage  associations,  auxiliary  to  the  parent  body,  were 
subsequently  formed  in  various  parts  of  the  State. 

In  January  1841,  printed  petitions,  signed  by  about  600  persons  in  all, 
were  presented  to  the  Legislature,  praying  for  "  the  abrogation  of  the 
Charter,  and  the  establishment  of  a  Constitution  which  should  more  ef- 
fectually define  the  authority  of  the  executive  and  legislative  branches, 
and  more  strongly  recognise  the  rights  of  the  citizens."  The  signers  of 
these  petitions  suggested  the  propriety  of  an  extension  of  suffrage  "  to  a 
greater  portion  of  the  white  male  residents  of  the  State,"  than  were  per- 
mitted by  the  then  existing  laws  to  exercise  the  elective  franchise.  At 
the  same  session  of  the  General  Assembly,  a  memorial  was  presented 
from  the  town  of  Smithfield,  setting  forth  "  the  extreme  inequality  of  the 
representation  from  the  several  towns,"  and  asking  legislative  interposi- 
tion for  the  correction  of  the  alleged  evil.  The  result  of  these  applica- 
tions to  the  Legislature,  was  the  passage  of  resolutions  requesting  the 
people  to  elect  delegates  to  a  Convention  to  be  held  at  Providence,  in 
November  1841,  to  frame  a  new  Constitution  for  this  State,  in  whole  or 
in  part.  At  the  session  in  June  1841,  a  resolution  was  adopted,  constitu- 
ting the  proposed  Convention  more  strictly  upon  the  basis  of  population. 
The  Legislature,  however,  refused  to  extend  the  right  of  electing  dele- 
gates to  the  Convention,  to  persons  who  were  not  qualified  electors  by  the 
fundamental  laws  of  the  State.  Notwithstanding  the  disposition  of  the 
General  Assembly  to  act,  in  this  matter,  in  accordance  with  popular 
sentiment,  measures  were  taken,  before  the  June  session,  by  the  friends 
of  the  suffrage  movement,  to  organize  a  Convention  by  their  own  au- 
thority. 


71 

In  May,  1841,  at  a  mass  meeting  held  in  Newport,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Suffrage  Association,  measures  were  taken  for  calling  a  convention  of 
the  people,  without  any  regard  to  the  fundamental  laws  of  this  State, 
which,  for  more  than  one  hundred. years,  had  required  the  possession  of  a 
freehold,  to  entitle  a  person  to  be  admitted  to  the  exercise  of  political 
power,  and  to  be  a  member  of  the  body  politic  and  corporate.  A  portion 
of  the  people  responded  to  the  call  of  this  unauthorized  body,  and  met 
in  the  several  towns  to  choose  delegates  to  a  Convention  to  form  a  Con- 
stitution for  this  State,  to  be  holden  at  Providence,  October  9th,  1841. 

This  was  in  anticipation  of  the  lawful  Convention  which  was  to  meet 
on  the  first  Monday  of  November,  1841 

The  unauthorized  Convention  assembled  in  Providence,  at  the  time 
appointed.  They  were  the  delegates  of  a  minority  of  the  people,  in 
whatever  sense  tlie  word  people  may  be  understood.  A  small  portion  of 
the  freeholders  joined  in  this  irregular  election,  and  although  all  persona 
were  admitted  to  vote  who  chose,  not  more  than  about  seven  thousand 
two  hundred  votes,  gave  any  appearance  of  sanction  to  this  Convention. 
The  number  of  white  male  citizens  of  the  United  States,  resident  in  this 
State,  over  i21  years  of  age,  exceeds  22,000.  Inasmuch  as  this  Conven- 
tion assumed  the  authority  which,  under  the  laws  of  the  State,  was  to  be 
exercised  by  another  Convention,  chosen  by  the  freemen  for  that  purpose, 
they  acted  in  opposition  to  the  law  under  which  the  lawful  Convention 
was  called,  and  in  violation  of  the  right  which  belonged  to  the  legally 
qualified  electors,  to  make  a  Constitution  lor  this  State. 

This  unlawful  Convention,  elected  by  a  minority  of  the  people,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  solemn  work  of  forming  a  Constitution  to  be  proposed  to 
the  people  of  this  State,  and  also  exercised  one;  of  tlie  most  important 
powers  of  sovereignty  ;  of  their  own  autliorily  they  decided  what  por- 
tion of  the  people  should,  and  what  portion  should  not,  vote  upon  tlie 
adoption  or  rejection  of  the  Constitution.  At  meetings  holden  under 
their  authority,  their  Constitution  was  submitted  to  those  whom  they 
pleased  to  recognise  as  the  people.  It  was  voted  for,  during  three  days, 
in  open  meetings,  and  three  days  by  votes  collected  from  all  quarters,  by 
any  person  or  persons,  and  brought  to  the  pretended  Moderator,  and 
with  no  opi)orlunity  for  detection  of  frauds.  Votes  thus  collected  and 
counted  by  their  own  mode  of  computation,  they  declared  to  have  been 
given  by  a  majority  of  tiu-  people,  and  by  the  same  pretended  authority, 
they  proclaimed  tiieir  Constitution  to  be  tlie  supreme  law  of  this  State. 

By  the  "People's"  Constitution,  "every  white  male  citizen  of  the 
United  States  of  llie  age  of  21  years,  who  has  resided  in  this  State  for  one 
year,  and  in  the  town  where  he  votes  for  six  months,"  was  permitted  to 
vote. 

The  lawful  Couvenlion  assembled  at  the  appointed  time,  the  first 
Monday  in  November,  1841.  The  result  of  tiieir  deliberations  was  a  Con- 
stitution, extending  the  right  of  suffrage  to  every  wiiite  male  iiaticc  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  of  the  age  of  21  years,  who  had  resided  two  years  in 


ike  State.     In  reference  to  naturalized  citizens,  the  freehold  qualification 
was  retained. 

On  the  21st,  22d  and  23d  March,  1841,  the  legal  Constitution,  by  an  act 
of  the  Legislature,  was  submitted  to  all  persons,  who  by  its  provisions 
would  be  entitled  to  vote  under  it,  after  its  adoption,  for  their  ratification. 
It  was  rejected  by  a  majority  of  676,  the  number  of  votes  polled  being 
16,702 — for  the  Constitution,  8013 — against  it,  8689.  Many  freeholders 
voted  against  it,  because  they  were  attached  to  the  old  form  of  govern- 
ment. Both  parties  used  uncommon  exertions  to  bring  all  their  voters  to 
the  polls.  Yet,  under  the  scrutiny  of  opposing  interests,  in  legal  town 
meetings,  the  friends  of  the  People's  Constitution  brought  to  the  polls 
probably  not  over  7000  to  7500  votes.  If  1000  be  allowed  as  the  numbei 
of  freeholders  who  voted  against  the  legal  Constitution,  because  they 
were  opposed  to  any  Constitution,  it  would  leave  the  number  of  the 
friends  of  the  People's  Constitution  7600,  or  one  third  of  the  voters  of 
the  State  under  the  new  qualification  proposed  by  either  Constitution. 

The  whole  number  of  persons  claimed  to  have  voted  for  the  People's 
Constitution,  was  13,996.  The  number  claimed  by  the  sufirage  party, 
as  being  entitled  to  vote,  was  23,542.  At  the  first  election  under  the 
People's  Constitution,  held  while  the  excitement  on  the  subject  of  suf" 
frage  was  unabated,  only  6,417  persons  voted — a  reduction  of  7,449,  from 
the  alleged  vote  for  the  Constitution  !  In  the  town  of  Newport,  1,207 
votes  were  claimed  for  the  People's  Constitution.  Only  three  months 
afterwards,  in  March  1842,  the  vote  was  taken  upon  the  legal  Constitu- 
tion, and  every  person  who  had  resided  in  the  State  two  years,  was  ad- 
mitted to  vote,  and  only  foreigners  and  the  transient  population  exclu- 
ded. The  suffrage  party,  after  the  most  strenuous  exertions,  could  ob- 
tain only  361  votes  against  it !  The  aggregate  vote  of  both  parties,  given 
at  this  same  town  meeting,  was  only  1091  votes !  These  facts  cannot 
easily  be  explained  away.  What  frauds  were  committed  in  other  towns, 
the  people  were  not  permitted  to  ascertain.  The  People's  Convention, 
in  January  1842,  by  resolution,  authorized  their  Secretaries  to  copy  any 
part  of  the  registry  of  the  votes,  or  the  votes  themselves,  upon  the 
application  of  any  person.  Foreseeing  what  would  be  the  inevitable  re- 
sult of  a  rigid  examination  of  the  registry,  the  Suffrage  Association 
countermanded  the  orders  of  the  People  s  Contention,  and  prohibited  any 
further  copies  from  being  taken  ! 

On  the  4th  of  May  1842,  the  Charter  government  was  organized,  as 
usual,  at  Newport.  The  suffrage  party,  having  also  elected  a  Governor 
and  a  Legislature,  under  the  so-called  "  People's  Constitution,"  organ- 
ized a  government,  under  the  protection  of  an  armed  force.  May  3d,  1841, 
at  Providence. 

On  the  18th  of  May  1842,  an  attempt  was  made  by  an  armed  force, 
commanded  by  the  Governor  under  the  People's  Constitution,  to  cap- 
ture the  State's  Arsenal  in  Providence.  The  military  force  assembled  on 
that  occasion,  was,  in  the  language  of  the  "  People's  Governor,"  "  not 


73 

iess  than  400  men,  whose  port  and  spirit  indicated  that  they  were  ready, 
in  the  last  resort,  to  sustain  the  People's  Constitution,  and  the  govern- 
ment duly  elected  under  it,  by  all  necessary  mcins  .'"  The  result  of  this 
most  atrocious  enterprise  has  become  matter  of  history. 

In  the  third  week  of  June  1842,  the  General  Assembly  passed  an  act 
providing  for  another  Convention  to  form  a  Constitution,  to  be  held  in 
September,  and  to  be  composed  of  delegates  chosen  by  persons  having 
three  years'  residence  in  the  State,  neither  property,  taxation,  nor  military 
service  being  required  as  a  qualification. 

In  the  last  week  of  June  1842,  another  desperate  effort  was  made  to 
overthrow,  by  force  of  arms,  the  regular  government  of  Rhode-Island, 
and  to  establish  the  "  People's  Constitution  "  upon  its  ruins.  The 
result  of  this  effort,  which  has  given  to  Chepachetand  to  the  Insurgents 
who  tliere  assembled,  so  unenviable  a  celebrity,  has  likewise  become 
matter  of  history. 

The  Convention  provided  for  by  the  act  of  tlie  General  Assembly  in 
June,  assembled  at  Newport,  in  September  1842.  The  Constitution 
under  which  tlie  government  of  Rhode-Island  has  just  been  organized, 
was  draughted  by  this  Convention,  and  by  them  was  submitted  to  the 
people,  for  adoption  or  rejection,  on  the  21st,  22d  and  23d  days  of  No- 
vember 1842.  The  people  adopted  it  by  a  very  decided  vote  ;  for  the 
Constitution,  7,032 — against  it,  only  59.  The  suffrage  party  formally 
protested  against  the  adoption  of  the  legal  Constitution,  and  declined 
even  to  vote  against  it !  They,  however,  subsequently  determined  to 
register  their  names,  according  to  its  provisions  ;  and,  at  the  recent  elec- 
tion, by  voting  under  it,  they,  in  a  legal  sense,  fully  acknowledged  its 

VALIDITY ! 

Note. — Vide  Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  action  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, on  the  subject  of  the  Constitution,  March  Session,  1842. — Haz- 
ard's Report  on  tlie  Extcnsionof  Suffrage,  June  Session,  1829. — Statement 
submitted  by  John  Whipple,  John  Brown  Francis,  and  Elisha  R.  Potter 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  1842. — Considerations  on  the 
Rhode-Island  Quesfion,  by  Elisha  R.  Potter,  1842. — Frieze's  "Concise 
History"  of  the  Suffrage  Movement,  1842. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  WORD  "  PROX.  ' 

At  the  recent  election  in  this  State,  one  of  the  "  tickets"  on  which  was 
placed  the  names  of  candidates  for  General  Officers,  was  denominated 
Rhode-Island  "  Prox."  As  the  Constitution  cannot  give  law  to  language, 
this  word,  so  long  associated  with  institutions  under  the  Charter  govern- 
ment, is  likely  to  be  retained  in  use.  The  following  account  of  its  mean- 
ing and  derivation,  is,  therefore,  not  unworthy  of  preserviition.  It  was 
published  originally  in  the  Rhode-Island  American  for  August  1,  1817, 
and  was  written,  in  the  presence  of  the  Editor,  currente  calamo,  by  the 
late  Hon.  James  Burrill  : 

"  Wo  use  the  word  Prox  in  the  sense  of  a  ticket  or  list  of  candidates  for 
the  offices  of  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  Senators.     The  origin 

10 


74 

of  this  singular  use  of  the  word  is,  it  is  believed,  as  follows : — Under  the 
Charter  of  Charles  II.  to  the  Colony  of  Rhode-Island  and  Providence 
Plantations,  the  freemen,  after  having  elected  their  Representatives  at 
home,  went  in  person  to  Newport  to  vote  for  "  Governor,  Lieutenant 
Governor  and  Assistants."  At  a  later  period,  this  mode  being  found  in- 
convenient, the  General  Assembly  passed  a  law  permitting  the  freemen 
to  vote  in  the  April  town  meeting  for  General  officers,  and  the  votes  thus 
given  in  were  and  are  now  by  law,  called  Proxy  votes,  because  they  were 
to  have  the  freeman's  name  written  on  the  back  of  the  vote,  and  were  to 
be  sent  to  the  General  Assembly  by  one  of  the  members,  who  was  thus 
considered  as  the  Proxy  of  his  constituent — and  the  member  himself 
might,  as  might  also  any  other  freeman  who  did  not  vote  in  April,  give 
in  his  vote  personally  at  the  General  Election  in  May.  When  an  election 
was  likely  to  prove  "close,"  as  the  phrase  was,  the  friends  of  the  candi- 
dates collected  all  such  freemen  as  had  not  voted  in  town  meeting,  and 
carried  them  to  Newport  to  vote  at  the  General  Election.  This  system 
being  obviously  calculated  to  promote  bribery  and  corruption,  and  being 
also  productive,  as  experience  proved,  of  riots  and  tumults  at  the  General 
Election,  was  altered  many  years  ago ;  and  the  freemen,  as  in  other 
States,  now  give  their  suflFrages  in  their  respective  town-meetings.  So 
late,  however,  as  1798,  a  Representative  in  the  Assembly,  who  had  not 
voted  at  home,  might  vote  on  the  Annual  Election  Day  at  Newport. 

"  Though  the  reason  for  the  singular  use  of  this  word  among  us  has  long 
ceased,  the  word,  as  is  often  the  case  in  other  instances,  remains  in  use. 
And  our  statutes  call  the  votes  given  in  for  "  GeneAl  Officers,"  proxy 
votes,  and  in  common  parlance  the  vote  is  called  a  prox,  or  in  the  plural, 
proxies." 


RECEPTION  OF  THE  CHARTER  OF  CHARLES  II. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  Colony  Records,  show  how  cordial  and 
diflFusive  was  the  joy  felt  by  our  ancestors,  at  the  reception  of  the  Char- 
ter of  Charles  II. 

"  THE  PROCEEDS  OF  A  COURT  OF  COMMISTIONERS  AT 

NUPORT,  NOVEMBER  24:  1663. 
Votted  that  Captayne  George  Baxter  be  desiered  to  bring  forth  and  pre- 
sent the  Charter  to  this  Court. 

Votted  that  this  Court  be  adiourned  vntill  to  morrow  morning  eight  of 
the  clocke  to  give  way  for  the  Charter  to  be  read. 

Att  a  very  great  Metting  and  Asembly  of  the  Freemen  of  the  Collony 
of  Providence  Plantations  at  Nuport  one  Rhod-Iland  in  New  England 
November  24:  1663. 

The  abovesayd  Asembly  beinge  legally  called  and  orderly  mett  for  the 
Sollome  Reseption  of  his  Maiestyes  gratious  Letters  pattents  vnto  them 
sent  and  having  in  order  therto  chosen  the  Presedent  Benidick  Arnold 
Moderator  of  the  Asembly, 


73 

It  was  ordered  and  voted  Nemene  Contradecente. 

Voted  1.  That  Mr.  John  Clarke  the  Collony  Agents  Letter  to  the  Pres- 
edent  Asestants  and  freemen  of  the  Collony  be  opened  and  Read  which 
accordingly  was  done  with  good  delevery  and  atention — 

Voted  2.  That  the  box  in  which  the  King's  gratious  Letters  weare  in- 
closed be  opened  and  the  Letters  with  the  Broad  Scale  thereto  afFexed  be 
taken  forth  and  Read  by  Captayne  George  Baxter  in  the  audiance  and 
vew  of  all  the  people  :  which  was  accordingly  done  and  the  sayd  letters 
with  his  Maicstyes  Royall  Stampe  and  the  broad  Scale  with  much  besem- 
ing  gravity  held  up  on  hygh  and  presented  to  the  parfitt  vew  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  soe  Retorned  into  the  box  and  locked  vp  by  the  Governor  in 
order  to  the  safe  keping  it. 

[Here  follow  votes  of  thanks  to  King  Charles  IL,  to  Lord  Clarendon, 
and  to  Dr.  Clarke.] 

Voted  8.  That  Captayne  George  Baxter  shall  have  five  and  twentye 
pound  starling  in  Corrant  pay  given  him  as  a  token  from  the  Collony  of 
ther  Thankfull  Resentment  of  the  Charter  of  which  hee  was  the  most 
faythfull  and  happie  bringer  and  presenter  by  our  Agents  order  vnto  this 
Asembly  besids  the  Charge  of  his  being  m  and  commge  trom  Boston 
therwith  to  be  alsoe  defrayed  and  the  sd  25  pound  to  be  payd  him  with 
all  conveniante  speed. 

Votted  9.  That  all  the  above  sayd  Votts  be  Recorded  by  Joseph  Torrey 
Gennerall  Recorder  and  soe  the  Asembly  is  disoulfed  in  order  to  the 
aecquiseing  his  Maiestyes  order  and  Commands  in  the  Charter." 

Colony  Records,  pp.  232-234. 


LAST  DAYS  OF  THE    CHARTER   LEGISLATURE,  AND  THE 

ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  UNDER  THE 

CONSTITUTION. 

The  General  Assembly  under  the  Charter,  convened  at  the  State 
House,  in  Newport,  on  Monday,  May  1,  1843,  agreeably  to  a  vote  of  ad- 
journment, passed  at  the  session  in  January.  A  quorum  of  both  Houses 
being  present,  the  session  was  opened  at  3  o'clock  P.  M.,  by  Prayer,  by 
the  Rev.  Francis  Vinton,  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  Newport.  The  two 
Houses,  in  Grand  Committee,  then  adopted  the  following  Resolution  : 

^'■Resolved,  That  Messrs.  Lawton,  Fenner,  Potter,  Harris  and  Bosworth, 
of  the  Senate,  and  Messrs  Cranston,  Branch,  Updike,  Remington  and 
Hall,  of  the  Mouse,  be  a  committee  to  be  present  at,  and  witness  the  or- 
cranization  of  the  government  under  the  Constitution  adopted  by  the  peo- 
ple of  this  State,  in  November  last ;  and  that  said  committee  make  report 
to  this  General  Assembly,  as  soon  as  said  organization  shall  be  completed 
in  conformity  to  tiie  provisions  of  said  Constitution,  in  order  that  this 
General  Asst-nibly  may  know  when  its  functions  shall  have  constitu- 
tionally passed  into  the  hands  of  those  who  have  been  legally  chosen  by 
the  people,  to  receive  and  exercise  the  same." 

The  Grand  Committee  then  adjourned,  till  5  o'clock,  the  next  day, 
Tuesday,  May  2, 1843. 


The  Greneral  Assembly,  under  the  Ck>nstitution  adopted  by  the  people, 
in  November,  A.  D.  1842,  convened  at  the  State  House,  in  Newport,  on 
the  first  Tuesday  of  May,  1843,  agreeably  to  the  provisions  of  that  in- 
strument, at  11  o'clock  A.  M. 

The  members  of  the  new  Senate  and  House  assembled  in  separate 
chambers,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  the  government.  His  Excel- 
lency, Samuel  Ward  King,  the  last  Governor  under  the  Charter  of  1663, 
presided  in  the  organization  of  the  new  Senate  ;  and  the  senior  member 
from  the  town  of  Newport,  the  Hon.  Henry  Y.  Cranston,  and  the  Cleiks 
of  the  old  House,  acted  as  oflBcers  of  the  new  House,  until  it  was  or- 
ganized. 

In  the  Senate,  thirty-one  Senators,  the  whole  number,  were  found  to 
be  present.  After  receiving  their  certificates  of  election,  the  Secretary 
of  State,  the  Hon.  Henry  Bowen,  administered  the  oath  prescribed  by 
the  Constitution. 

In  the  House,  after  the  observance  of  the  customary  formalities,  the 
Secretary  of  State  administered  the  oath  to  the  members,  a  large  majority 
of  whom  were  found  to  be  present.  Hon.  Alfred  Bosworth  was  then 
elected  Speaker,  for  the  year  ensuing;  and  Thomas  A.  Jenckes  and 
Joseph  S.  Pitman,  Clerks,  for  the  year  ensuing. 

His  Excellency  the  Governor  and  the  Honorable  Senate  then  joined 
the  House,  in  Grand  Committee,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the  votes 
for   General  Officers,  and  of  appointing  a  committee  to  count  the  same. 

The  session  of  the  General  Assembly  was  then  opened  by  Prayer,  by 
the  Rev.  Francis  Vinton. 

After  receiving  the  ballots  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Grand 
Committee  appointed  a  committee  to  count  them,  consisting  of  one 
Senator  and  three  Representatives  from  each  county.  To  this  committee 
were  then  added  the  Secretary  of  State  and  the  Clerks  of  the  House. 

The  Grand  Committee  then  adjourned  till  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day. 

The  Grand  Committee  met  at  five  o'clock.  His  Excellency  Governor 
King  in  the  Chair. 

The  committee  appointed  to  count  the  votes  for  General  Ofiicers  made 
report  as  follows : 

Whole  number  of  votes  for  Governor,  16,520 

For  James  Fenner,  9,107 

Thomas  F.  Carpenter,  7,392 

Scattering,  21 

Majority  for  Fenner,  1,694 

Whole  number  of  votes  for  Lieutenant  Governor,  16,612 


For  Byron  Diman, 

9,212 

Benjamin  B.  Thurston, 

7,398 

Scattering, 

2 

Majority  for  Diman, 

Whole  number  of  votes  for  Secretary, 

For  Henry  Bowen, 

9,212 

Dexter  Randall, 

7,378 

Scattering, 

4 

Majority  for  Bowen, 

Whole  number  of  votes  for  Attorney  General, 

For  Joseph  M.  Blake, 

9,217 

Samuel  Y.  Atwell, 

7,372 

Scattering, 

2 

Majority  lor  Blake, 

Whole  number  of  votes  for  Greneral  Treasurer, 

For  Stephen  Cahoone, 

9,215 

Josiah  S.  Munro, 

7,383 

Majority  for  Cahoone, 

1,812 

1,830 

1,843 
1,832 


16,594 


16,591 


16,598 


•'  The  foregoing  Report  being  read  and  accepted,  it  was  thereupon  Re- 
solved., that  the  said  James  Fcnner  be  declared  elected  Governor  ;  Byron 
Diman,  Lieutenant  Governor ;  Henry  Bowen,  Secretary  of  State  ;  Joseph 
M.  Blake,  Attorney  General ;  and  Stephen  Cahoone,  General  Treasurer, 
who  were  severally  engaged  according  to  the  p'ovisions  of  the  Constitu- 
tion." Governor  King,  who,  during  the  ceremony,  was  seated  in  the 
identical  oaken  chair,  in  which,  one  hundred  and  eighty  years  ago.  Gov- 
ernor Arnold  received  the  Charter,  inunediately  resigned  his  seat  to  his 
successor,  while  the  Speaker  of  the  House  called  out,  as  usual, — "  Sheriff, 
clear  the  way — Sergeant  make  proclamation  that  his  Excellency  James 
Fenner  is  elected  Governor,  Captain-General  and  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  State  of  Rhode-Island  and  Providence  Plantations  for  the  year 
ensuing."  The  crowd  gave  way,  and  the  Town  Sergeant  of  the  town  of 
Newport,  made  the  customary  proclamation  of  the  election  of  Governor 
to  the  people,  from  the  balcony  of  the  State  House.  After  proclaiming 
the  other  General  Officers,  in  a  similar  manner,  the  Sergeant  added,  ac- 
cording to  the  pious  formality  observed  by  our  ancestors  :  "  God  save  the 
State  of  Rhode-Island  and  Providence  Plantations."  The  roar  of  artil- 
lery and  the  shouts  of  the  people,  followed  the  proclamation  made  by 
the  Sergeant. 

The  two  Houses  then  separated. 

The  following  joint  Resolution  passed  both  Houses  on  the  same  day  : 

"  Resolved,  by  this  General  Assembly,  that  Messrs.  Cranston  and 
Chace,  of  Newport,  Ames  and  Branch,  of  Providence,  Hazard  and  Bar- 
ber, of  Washington,  Whipple  and  Brayton,  of  Kent,  Hall  and  Cole,  of 
Bristol,  with  the  Senators  from  Providence,  Little  Compton,  Westerly, 
Warwick  and  Warren,  be  a  committee  to  wait  upon  the  General  Assem- 
bly under  the  Charter  here  legally  convened,  and  announce  to  said  Gen- 
eral Assembly  in  Grand  Committee  assembled,  that  the  Government 
under  the  Charter  is  duly  organized." 

The  House  then  adjourned  till  10  o'clock,  A.  M.,  tlie  next  day  ;  and 
the  Senate  till  3  o'clock,  P.  M.,  the  next  day. 


After  the  adjournment,  (on  Tuesday,)  of  the  General  Assembly  under 
the  Constitution,  the  General  Assembly  under  the  Charier  convened  in 
Grand  Committee,  Governor  King  in  the  Chair. 

The  Committee  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  under  the  Consti- 
tution, appeared  and  made  report,  through  their  Cbairman,  the  Senator 
from  Providence,  that  the  Government  under  the  new  Constitution,  was 
legally  organized. 

The  Committee  appointed  by  the  Grand  Committee  on   Monday,  to 
witness  the  organization  of  the  new  Government,  made  the  following  re- 
port : — 
To  the  Honorable  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Rhode-Island,  &c., 

now  assembled  at  Newport,  under  the  Charter  of  this  State. 

The  subscribers,  appointed  by  this  Honorable  Body,  a  Committee  to  bo 
present  at  the  organization  of  the  new  General  .Assembly  under  the  Con- 
Btitiition  recently  adopted  by  the  people  of  this  Slate,  respectfully  report, 
that  they  have  attended  to  the  duty  assigned  to  them  ;  that  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  under  the  Constitution  have  been  duly  or- 
ganized according  to  the  provisions  of  said  Constitution,  and  the  act 
passed  at  tlie  last  January  Session  of  the  (Jeneral  Assembly,  regulating 
their  organization,  and  that,  therefore,  according  to  the  provisions  of  .laid 


78 

Constitution,   the   power  of  the  Government  aa  organized  under  the 
Charter  has  ceased. 

EDWARD  W.  LAWTON, 
ELISHA  HARRIS, 
ELISHA  R.  POTTER, 
HEZEKIAH  BOS  WORTH, 
HENRY  Y.  CRANSTON, 
WILKINS  UPDIKE, 
BENJAMIN  HALL, 
BENJAMIN  F.  REMINGTON, 
STEPHEN  BRANCH. 
Newport,  Tuesday,  May  2,  1843. 

Whereupon  the  following  resolution  was  adopted  : 

In  Generai,  Assembly,  ") 

Tuesday,  May  2d,  1843.  ) 
Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  Report  be  accepted,  and  that  this  Gene- 
ral Assembly  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  declared  to  be  dissolved. 

With  the  passage  of  this  Resolution,  the  last  General  Assembly  under 
the  Old  Charter  ceased  to  exist. 


CELEBRATION  OF  THE  CHANGE  IN  THE  CIVIL   GOVERN- 
MENT OF  RHODE-ISLAND. 

On  Wednesday,  the  3d  of  May,  1843,  this  memorable  event  was  cele- 
brated by  the  people  of  Rhode- Island,  at  Newport.  The  arrangements 
for  the  celebration  were  made  by  the  citizens  of  that  town,  who  invited 
the  Hon.  General  Assembly,  and  their  fellow-citizens  of  the  State,  to 
join  with  them  in  the  performance  of  the  ceremonies  on  that  occasion. 

At  11  o'clock  A.  M.,  a  procession  was  formed  in  front  of  the  State 
House,  according  to  the  following  order,  and  marched  through  some  of 
the  principal  streets,  to  the  North  Baptist  Church. 

MILITARY    ESCORT. 

Newport  Artillery,  Lieutenant  Col.  Coggeshall. 
[Under  the  command  of  Col.  Swan.] 

CIVIL     ESCORT. 

Town  Marshal. 

Citizens  of  Newport. 

Orator  and  Chaplain  of  the  Day. 

Governor  of  the  State  and  Staff, 

[Preceded  by  the  High  Sheriff"  of  Newport.] 

Lt.  Governor  and  Senate. 

Speaker,  Members,  and  Officers  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Secretary,  Attorney  General,  and  General  Treasurer. 

Judges  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court. 

[Here  follow  Officers  of  the  Government  under  the  Charter  of  1663,  viz  :] 

Marshal. 

His  Excellency  Samuel  W.  King  and  Staff". 

Members  and  Secretary  of  the  Governor's  Council. 

His  Honor  Lieut.  Governor  Bullock. 

Members  of  the  Senate. 

Speaker,  Members  and  Officers  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Secretary,  Attorney  General  and  General  Treasurer. 

Former  Governors  of  the  State  now  living. 

Town  Sergeant  of  Newport. 


79 

President  and  Members  of  Town  Council  of  Newport  and  Town  Clerk. 
Reverend  Clergy  of  Newport. 
President  and  Members  of  the  Rhode-Island  Historical  Society. 
President  and  Officers  of  Brown  University. 
Mayor  of  the  City  of  Providence. 
Members  of  the  United  States  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 
Judge  of  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  and  Judge  of  the  U.  S.  District  Court. 
U.  S.  District  Attorney,  Marshal  and  Clerk  of  District  Court. 
Former  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress. 
Surviving  Officers  and  Soldiers  of  the  Revolution. 
Surviving  Officers  of  the  Battle  of  Lake  Erie. 
Civil  Officers  of  the  U.  S. 
Major  General  of  the  Militia  of  Rhode-Island  and  Staff. 
Brigadiers  General  of  Rhode-Island  and  Staff. 
General  Staff,  viz  :  Adjutant  General,  Quartermaster  General,  Commis- 
sary General  and  Purveyor  General  of  the  Military  Hospital. 
Citizens  of  the  State  of  Rhode-Island. 
Military  of  other  States. 
Citizens  of  other  States. 
Marshal. 

The  Exercises  at  the  Church  were  performed  in  the  following  order : 
ANTHEM— "  0  PRAISE  YE  THE  LORD  !" 

O  praise  ye  the  Lord  !   prepare  your  glad  voice, 

His  praise  in  the  great  assembly  to  sing  ; 
In  their  great  Creator  let  all  men  rejoice, 

And  heirs  of  salvation  be  glad  in  their  King. 
And  heirs,  &c. 

Let  them  his  great  name  devoutly  adore  ; 

In  loud  swelling  strains  his  praises  express, 
Who  graciously  opens  his  bountiful  store. 

Their  wants  to  relieve,  and  his  children  to  bless. 
Their  wants,  &c. 

With  glory  adorned,  his  people  shall  sing 

To  God,  who  defence  and  plenty  supplies: 
Their  loud  acclamations  to  him,  their  great  King, 

Thro'  earth  shall  be  sounded,  and  reach  to  the  skies. 
Thro'  earth,  «&,c. 

Ye  angels  above,  his  glories  who've  sung. 

In  loftiest  notes,  now  publish  his  praise  ; 
We  mortals,  delighted,  would  borrow  your  tongue  ; 

Would  join  in  your  numbers,  and  chant  to  their  lays. 
Would  join,  A;c. 

P  R  A  Y  E  R— By  Rev.  Mr.  Leaver,  of  Newport. 

O  R  I  G  I  .N  A  L    ODE. 

Music,  awake  thy  loftiest  strain, 

In  praise  of  Heaven's  eternal  Lord, 
Let  His  salvation  be  the  theme. 

And  ever  be  His  name  ador'd  ! 

To  Him,  whose  kind  paternal  hand. 

Directed  in  our  darkest  hour, 
When  clouds  of  gloom  o'erspread  our  land. 

Our  gladsome  hearts  their  praise  outpour — 


JK 


3a  a5" 


a- 


7 


Within  thy  Temple,  Sovereign  Lord, 
Rhode-Island's  sons  their  offerings  bring — 

Guide  us,  protect  and  ever  guard. 
Under  the  shadow  of  Thy  wing. 

Our  motto  is — "  In  God  we  hope" — 

And  may  it  ever  be  the  same  ; 
They  ne'er  shall  fail — a  certain  prop, — 

Who  trust  His  great  and  glorious  name. 

A  D  D  R  E  S  S— by  Wm.  G.  Goddahd,  Esa.  of  Providence. 

PSALM   101:  Tune  "  Old  Hundred." 
Mercy  and  judgment  are  my  song, 
And  snce  they  both  to  thee  belong, 
My  gracious  God,  my  righteous  King, 
To  thee  my  songs  and  vows  I'll  bring. 

If  I  am  rais'd  to  bear  the  sword, 
I'll  take  my  counsels  from  thy  word  ; 
Thy  justice  and  thy  heavenly  grace 
Shall  be  the  pattern  of  my  ways. 

Let  wisdom  all  my  actions  guide. 
And  let  my  God  with  me  reside  : 
No  wicked  thing  shall  dwell  with  me, 
Which  may  provoke  thy  jealousy. 

No  sons  of  slander,  rage  and  strife, 
Shall  be  companions  of  my  life ; 
The  haughty  look,  the  heart  of  pride, 
Within  my  doors  shall  ne'er  abide. 

In  vain  shall  sinners  hope  to  rise 
By  flattering  or  malicious  lies  : 
And  while  the  innocent  I  guard, 
The  bold  offender  sha'n't  be  spared. 

The  impious  crew,  that  factious  band, 
Shall  hide  their  heads,  or  quit  the  land  ; 
And  all  that  break  the  public  rest, 
Where  I  have  power,  shall  be  suppress'd. 

BENEDICTION. 

The  Procession  then  returned  to  the  Parade  in  firontof  the  State  House, 
and  was  dismissed  by  the  Chief  Marshal. 

The  original  Charter  of  1663,  was  borne  in  the  procession  by  the  ven- 
erable Captain  David  M.  Coggeshall,  of  Newport.  During  the  perform- 
ance of  the  ceremonies,  this  venerated  instrument  was,  for  the  last  time, 
"  presented  to  the  perfect  view  of  the  people,"  being  suspended  from 
the  front  of  the  pulpit,  while  the  box  in  which  it  was  brought  from 
England  to  Rhode-Island,  by  the  faithful  Captain  Baxter,  occupied  a 
place  on  the  cushion  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Orator.  The  Charter  is 
beautifully  engrossed  on  three  sheets  of  parchment,  which  have  become 
somewhat  worn  and  decayed  by  the  lapse  of  a  hundred  and  eighty  years. 
A  part  of  the  seal  has  been  broken  off,  but  is  preserved  with  the  rest. 


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